


It Started With a Rose

by whatisreggieshortfor



Series: Roses Bleed [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:27:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27262714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatisreggieshortfor/pseuds/whatisreggieshortfor
Series: Roses Bleed [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990603





	It Started With a Rose

It started with a rose on my doorstep. The note read simply, “ _from your secret admirer._ ” I thought it might’ve been left at the wrong house. Or maybe my dad had someone drop it off for my mom while he was stuck at work for the first time on Valentine’s Day. I really didn’t want to think about the only other time I’d ever gotten flowers. I scooped it up and set it on the small end table next to my front door. “Mom! I’m home! Heading upstairs to do my homework before Skye gets here.”  
“Okay, Frito! Just don’t stay out past twelve tonight since you’re taking my car while yours is in the shop!”  
I rolled my eyes as I shut my door. My parents and friends still used a nickname I earned in the sixth grade when I ate four bags of chili cheese Fritos by myself and managed not to throw up. Though it’s still better than the guy’s name I was given, Traivon. My parents thought they were having a boy and refused to plan a backup name. Out of desperation they made my middle name the first girls name they could think of. Eunice. And with my last name as generic as can be, Johnson, my name is a train wreck. I tossed my book bag onto my bed, fixed my gig countdown on my chalkboard walls, and plopped down as my phone dinged with a message from Skye.  
“ _Ur rents still givn u car 2nite?_ ”  
I hate the way Skye texts, but she’s my best friend so I gave up arguing with her that we have a full keyboard so there’s no reason to shorthand anymore. I fired back an affirmative and spent twenty minutes laying on my bed doing calculus homework before I heard the sound of feet pounding up my stairs. My bedroom door flew open and a wave of ginger hair hit me in the face as Skye fell into bed beside me. I laughed, “Ya know, most people knock on a closed door.”  
She threw her hands in the air, “Oh please, like you ever do any closed-door activities. All you do at home is homework. For an emo, you are such a nerd.”  
“Oh, the goth calling the emo black!” I laughed and reached out to shut my door.  
“Chill out, Frito.” She grinned, “Now, that new kid is throwing a party tonight. Posted it on the school website. We’re going.”  
“I thought Vega wanted us to meet her at Circuit Boards.”  
Skye nodded beside me, “I talked her into moving that to tomorrow. All of us are going, now let’s raid your closet. I know that outfit I got you for your eighteenth birthday last week is in there, and it would look perfect.” She hopped up and marched over to my closet, sliding hangers around until she found what she was looking for.  
“Isn’t the new kid that guy from New York that spent his like first day at school talking to the football team and rating all the girls in school?” I pulled my silver hair up into a ponytail and grabbed the clothes she thrusted in my direction.  
She rolled her deep blue eyes. “Yeah, that’s the one. You know you could easily be the prettiest girl at school if you dressed more conventionally.”  
“You literally just handed me a black and red lace corset and leather skirt with fish nets to wear and you wanna talk about me dressing more conventional?” I laughed, and then she laughed too.  
“Hey, I love you the way you are.” She pushed me into my desk chair as soon as my clothes were changed, pulled the hair tie out to let my hair fall over my shoulders, and started digging through my make-up. “Now, you don’t usually go to parties so I gotta make sure you look fly.”  
“Fly? Why do you sound like my dad trying to be cool? And for that matter, why are we going to a party on Valentine’s Day of all times?” I closed my eyes and she started gently brushing the eyeliner pencil across.  
“Well, to be honest, I might be planning on meeting a date tonight and I want you there as back up.” My eyes shot open and I looked up at her. “Don’t give me that look.” I closed my eyes again.  
“Why do you need back up at a party?”  
“In case it turns out he sucks; I can just bail and hang out with you.” I felt the pencil leave my eye and the eye shadow brush take its place. “Vega is going too, so you won’t have to worry about being alone.”  
“Vega is easily the most popular of the three of us, she’s definitely gonna have other friends there.” I could feel Skye’s puppy dog eyes on me without looking. “I will go. For you. Just remember I have to be home by twelve.”  
“Yes! Thank you!” She hugged me and then pulled back to apply the lipstick. “There. Open your eyes.”  
I looked in the mirror. I looked nothing like myself. I was used to my dark eye liner and black lipstick, but she had painted my lips in a bright red shade to match the silk laces of the corset. “I look like a stranger.”  
“Perfect. So, you have no reason to be your self-conscious self tonight. Now come on.” I threw on my galaxy choker and barely laced my high tops before she grabbed my hand, tossing my leather jacket at me and we raced down the stairs and out the door before my mom could look twice at my outfit. As we stepped onto the front porch, I looked down and there was another rose. The note read, “ _I’ve never admired a girl so perfect._ ”  
“Are you the one leaving these?” I held it up to Skye.  
She looked at me quizzically, “These? As in more than one?” She took it and read the note. “Ohmygods! You have an admirer!”  
I rolled my eyes, taking the flower and tossing it on the dashboard as we climbed in my mom’s civic accord. “I’m sure it’s just someone at school trying to prank me.”  
“I don’t know. Today is the perfect day of the year to confess feelings. Maybe they’ll be at the party tonight.”  
I laughed as I backed out onto Elm Drive. “If this person is seriously an admirer of mine, they wouldn’t look for me at a party.”  
“What? Can’t hear you.” She grinned as she cranked up the speakers blasting my iPod and I laughed, shaking my head. Falling in Reverse’s Popular Monster belting out of the speakers as I turned into Vega’s caul de sac. I pulled up to the curb in front of her house and she booked it outside into the car.  
“Go, go, go! Don’t let my mom catch us or she’s gonna question our plans.” I threw the car and gear and pulled away as the front door opened, leaving her mom behind us. “Yesssssss.”  
“Why are we running exactly?” I laughed, “It’s not like your parents would stop us from going.”  
“No, but it’ll just take time to have that conversation.” Vega clapped her hands together, “Okay, so Skye tells me we’re hitting the new kids party tonight?”  
“Yup!” Skye chirped. For a goth, she was a very chipper person. She was mostly goth for the aesthetic. But in fairness, she had the aesthetic on point. She had five different piercings in her face and still had a collection of Tripp pants, corsets, lace, and silk. She looked like a modern vampire every day. Vega on the other hand was more of a hipster. She wore the thick black plastic rimmed glasses, had a single hoop in her nose, wore skinny jeans and band t shirts with plaid flannels over them. And I looked full brand emo. Two piercings in my lips, one in my eyebrow, skinny jeans and black shirts every day, and enough eye liner to make me look like a raccoon. We basically looked like all the genres of people the old Hot Topic was marketed toward before they started broadening their base audience and stopped selling Tripps.  
“Sounds good but why is there a flower on the dash?” Vega quirked her eyebrow up at me. I pulled up to a stop sign down the street, fishing my cigarettes out of my messenger bag, and directed a shrug in her direction.  
Skye, on the other hand, was very eager to share. “Frito, here, has a secret admirer.”  
Vega slapped my shoulder, “Get out of town! Our little Frito is growing up!”  
“Need I remind you that I’m older than both of you.”  
Vega laughed, “You’re only older than me by two weeks!”  
“Which means you still have a week before you’re eighteen.” I grinned. “And poor Skye and Jake have a month.” I winked at her as she grumbled from the passenger seat. I pulled into her winding driveway, “Just go get dressed for this date you made us rearrange our days for.” She playfully shoved my arm and booked it into her house.  
Vega turned to me in the back, “So, really though, what’s up with the flower?”  
I shrugged again. “It was just sitting on the doorstep when we were on our way out the door. It crossed my mind that it might’ve been for my mom, my dad is still at work so I couldn’t ask him, but I probably should’ve left it with the other one.”  
“Other one?” She quirked her eyebrow again.  
I nodded and immediately regretted bringing it up. “When I got home from class, there was one. I left it on the end table by the door. Then Skye came over and this one was there when we were leaving.”  
Vega stroked her chin like she was thinking deeply, “Interesting. Very interesting. Who do you think it is?”  
“Not a clue. It’s not like I have anybody looking at me with hearts in their eyes.” I ran my hand through my hair.  
“But you must be hoping it’s someone. What about that guy from your creative writing course? Or the girl from the poetry slam that ended up being in our chem class?”  
I grimaced, “You know I’m all about mind over matter with people, and they’re both hot. And they’re both wicked smart, but I read one of Reid’s essays for class and it basically sounded like he supports Kim Jong Un. And Bridget admitted that she doesn’t believe in any of the ideals she writes about, she just writes stuff that will ensure a positive reaction.”  
“You pansexuals can’t just date someone for their body like the rest of us, can you?” She laughed. “Which is honestly great. Connect on that spiritual level and your morals won’t clash later. But maybe we’ll figure it out tonight.”  
“You know, that’s what Skye said. I feel like you two are more invested in my love life than I am.” I rolled my eyes, pushing my circle rimmed glasses back up my nose. I couldn’t tell her who I wished it was. He was too important to me.  
Vega regarded me intently as I continued to fiddle with my glasses. “Skye bummed you didn’t wear your contacts?” Vega knows me better than Skye sometimes, but Jake has always known me best. But she sees my fidgets when I get uncomfortable as clear signs not to push subjects. It can be a true blessing. Especially when it comes to this.  
“She didn’t really take the time to argue. She was in such a rush.” I glanced at the clock. “She better hurry, I want to swing by McDonalds on the way to this thing. If we’re drinking tonight, I need food to keep a clear head.” I started drumming my fingers on my steering wheel along to the bass of the Sum 41 song that came on. I thought about the one thing our outcast group was known for. The Mousai’s Cradle. “Hey, when’s our next band rehearsal again? Don’t we have a show next week?” She answered, knowing full well I had a countdown to every show in my room.  
Vega nodded. “Yeah, Circuit Boards is letting us play there again next Friday. I think we were planning on practicing again on Monday.”  
“Did you get your snare fixed?”  
“My dad said it was beyond fixing, since it’s been around since he was in college, so he bought me a new one. Finally got me a new design kit to make the set mine, too.” Finally, Skye came flying out the door, dressed in a different lace dress than she entered the house in. But we knew not to question it.  
“What are you guys talking about?”  
“Band stuff.” I replied, and Skye nodded. Skye used to be our keyboardist, but she left to focus on drama club. Now it’s just Vega on drums, I do guitar and vocals, and our other best friend-slash-Skye’s twin brother Jake does bass. “Are we good? I’m starving.”  
Skye waved her hand, “Yes, go, go. Jake is supposed to meet us at the party.”  
“He doesn’t need a ride?” I asked skeptically.  
Skye rolled her eyes, “Melanie is driving him.”  
Vega and I groaned in unison. Melanie was a former straight-laced cheerleader and had been Jake’s on again off again girlfriend for about a year and a half now. Whenever they were on, he blew off practice and missed gigs and forgot we existed. When they were off, he was the spunky grunge rocker and cynic we loved so much. “And we have to see her tonight why?” Vega asked.  
“Believe me, I would much rather never have to see her again. I thought when we graduated last year, we’d be done with her but since she never applied to college, she stayed in town.” Skye shrugged grumpily.  
“She needs to stop screwing with our boy’s heart.” Vega mumbled.  
I started flipping through my songs, “Come on, where’s that one that reminds me of her-“ You’re A Freak by Story Untold blared out-“There it is!” I grinned and cranked the music up louder.

Two hours later, I parked my car beside the curb in front of one of those flashy mini mansions. Rainbow lights flooded out the front door and you could feel the bass in the car. I opened my door, glaring at Skye as she asked if we were excited. “Come on, Frito. You aren’t the least bit excited for this?” She looked at me with her damn puppy dog eyes and I relented.  
“Let’s just get in there and get me a drink before I back out.” She clapped her hands together and trotted ahead of us as Vega took her place beside me. I fiddled with my skirt, wishing I hadn’t let her decide on this outfit. It wasn’t long before Skye found her date while Vega and I found the bar, and the new kid, Clint, was offering to mix us drinks. “Sorry, standard party rules. I don’t let anyone mix our drinks for us.”  
He held up his hands and grinned at me. “Step on back here, then, gorgeous. Show me what you got.” I smirked a little bit. Clint definitely seemed shallow, but there was no arguing about how hot he was. He had dirty blonde hair with bangs that hung just over his crystal blue eyes that sparkled when he smiled.  
I walked to the other side of the impressive set up he had and picked up the shaker, “Vega, you want the usual?” She shot me a thumbs up, and I started pouring the various liquors in with the ice, keeping the second count in mind. I clamped the end in place and shook it over my shoulder before pouring it into a glass and garnishing it with lime and orange wedges. “One Vega in Vegas as requested.”  
“Damn, you got skills.” Clint grinned at me again as he grabbed another shaker and started mixing someone else’s drink. “Where’d you learn?”  
I answered him as I poured rum and cherry soda into the shaker, “A mix of the internet and my cousin, who’s a mixologist. She taught a course a year or two ago and invited me to learn.”  
“And your parents let you? Color me impressed. I know they lowered the drinking age, but most parents wouldn’t let their high school age kid take a class like that.” I hadn’t realized how close I was to him until I went to scoop more ice into a glass and my arm brushed against his abdomen.  
I cleared my throat. “Vega, me, and our two other friends are first year at the state college up the road. Early graduation from high school. But they’re pretty easy going. They basically have three rules. Don’t get pregnant. Don’t get arrested. Don’t let the band keep me from finishing college. Everything else is fair game.”  
“Band? Are you in that group I keep hearing about around school?” As if on cue our song Love Me Like Narcissus Loves Herself started playing and he pointed at the speaker. “That’s you? Will you play tonight?” I turned to Vega and we both laughed. I poured my drink into the glass, topping it with orange juice and whipped cream. I waved at Clint, pulling Vega with me away from the bar. I could still hear him. “Is this seriously you?”  
Vega grinned at me, “I think someone likes you.”  
“Ah, yes. My life is complete. Getting Clint to swoon is officially checked off my list.” I laughed and rolled my eyes, taking a sip of my drink.  
“Frito!” I turned toward the voice calling my name.  
A flash of black hair and golden eyes ran toward me. “Jake and Bake!” He tackled me in a hug and Vega swiftly took my glass to keep it from spilling.  
“Ah, I missed this beautiful face!” He kissed my forehead and turned to Vega, “Come here, Vegas! You’re next!” Jake waited patiently while Vega passed me the glasses before he pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. He pulled back and grinned, pointing at the speaker. “I gave Clint a copy of the CD Joey made.”  
“That explains why he knew what Frito was talking about.” Vega’s eyes scanned the crowd, “Where’s Melanie?”  
Jake shrugged. “I mentioned that Skye said you guys were planning on coming, and she said something like ‘that’s cool, you won’t be hanging with them, you’re only gonna spend time with me’ and I was like, um, okay no? I mean I could not go through life if I couldn’t torment you two. So, she broke it off again. I called Joey for a ride cause I figured you guys were already at McDonalds by the time I talked to her.”  
I stifled a smile as I looked around, “Well, where’s Joey?”  
Jake shrugged again. “He was with me for about the first hour, but he probably found the drama club and got distracted. I told him I would just get a ride home with you guys anyway.”  
Vega looked lost in thought and then beamed, “So, you’re telling me that you aren’t going to bail on the gig next week?”  
Jake looked a little ashamed. “Yeah, I’m really sorry about bailing before.” Jake wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Vega accepted his hugs, but she wasn’t big on contact if emotions weren’t involved. “But I’m back in the game now, and we’re gonna slay.”  
I grimaced, laughing, “You did NOT just say slay.”  
He grinned, “How about you take your lovely self to the bar and make me a drink the way only you can, and we can talk about how uneventful our Valentine’s Day was?”  
Vega had a mischievous smile on her face, “Actually, Frito has a secret admirer.”  
Jake’s mouth fell open and he dropped his arm, “No way.”  
“Geez, ouch.” I chuckled as we made our way back to bar and I finished off my glass.  
“Oh, man, Frito, that’s not what I meant.” Jake looked like someone just kicked his puppy. “I’m just surprised. You tend to scare people away. I mean except-” he cut himself off and we all cringed simultaneously.  
I walked behind the bar and before I could reply to Jake, Clint was beside me. “You’re back!”  
“Nothing gets past you, Sherlock.” I turned to Jake, “Usual?”  
He nodded and looked at Clint, “I’m glad you put that CD to use already.”  
“Yeah!” Clint grinned, “I was trying to talk to her about it earlier and she just kinda walked away.”  
Jake laughed, “Yeah, that’s my girl. Ignoring people and making badass drinks.”  
Clint’s eyes widened for a second, “Oh, I didn’t realize you guys were-“  
Vega interrupted, “Oh, no, no, wrong idea. The three of us are best friends. They aren’t together.”  
Clint nodded, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He turned back to Jake, “What band was it anyway?”  
Jake grinned bigger than I’d seen in months, “That was actually us.” He gestured between the three of us. “Vega here plays drums. I play bass. And that lovely little death glare being shot my direction by Lakeside’s resident mixologist is our guitarist and lead vocals.”  
Clint looked at me as he poured himself a drink and I shook Jake’s cocktail. “That voice, was you?”  
I nodded once, pouring Jake’s drink, and sliding it to him, before starting another one for myself. “That would be correct.”  
“How’d you come up with the name?” Clint asked, looking between us.  
I shrugged as I poured some whiskey into the ice of my shaker, “Mousai is what ancient Greeks used to refer to the Muses.” He nodded as he watched me add apple pucker and orange juice in.  
Clint leaned on the bar, looking down at me, “You really like orange juice, don’t you?”  
“Huh?” I asked reflexively, my eyes widening a bit as I closed the shaker.  
“You added it to your drink earlier, too.” He smacked his hand down on the bar and turned to Jake before I could reply. “I need to get out from behind the bar for a while. If one more football player comes up and asks me to make a ‘manly drink cause fruity ones are for girls’, I may just lose my mind.” I laughed as I poured my drink, and it caught me off guard. Clint winked and grinned before looking back at Jake, “You guys wanna join me for a game of beer pong?”  
Jake threw his hands up, “Yes! Oh man, please, Frito? Vega? Can we?”  
Vega answered first, “I’m in if Frito is.”  
Clint quirked an eyebrow, “Frito?”  
I held up a finger, pulling a shot glass over and pouring a double shot of whiskey before shooting it back. “Long story. Give me a sec if we’re playing.” I poured and drank two more shots before picking up my glass and turning to them. “Okay. Let’s go.”  
Clint blinked and turned to Vega, “Did your girl just do three shots to get ready for beer pong?”  
Vega grinned, “Oh, honey, it’s cute how little you know about her.” We followed Clint through the crowd until we reached the back yard where a variety of tables were set up to play in the cool February air.  
“How do you wanna do teams?” I asked, shrugging out of my jacket, and cracking my knuckles. I looked at Clint, “It’s your party, pick your teammate.” I realized he was looking my outfit up and down in the new light and I could feel a blush creeping over my face. Jake cleared his throat after a minute, and it seemed to shake Clint back to reality.  
Jake grinned, “How about me and Vega versus you and Frito?” I glared at him as I took a place at the other end of the table and he and Vega high fived. Jake winked, “Maybe I just want to be able to look at you.” I rolled my eyes, but I felt myself smile.  
Vega tossed the balls to Clint. “Your party, you guys start.”  
Clint took out the front cup and turned to me, “Do you know how to play? Want some help?”  
“Oh, please.” I couldn’t help but smirk. I took my free hand, pushing my glasses to the top of my head, and covered my eyes. I opened them again after I heard the plink of the ball landing in the cup. “Boom! Balls back.” Clint’s mouth hung slightly open as I caught the balls and passed him one. “Did you want some help?”  
He laughed, running a hand through his hair. “You are full of surprises. Tell you what,” he looked between us, “Let’s change it up a bit. You get one in; you get to ask someone a question. I still don’t know you guys well yet since I’m new here, and something tells me she won’t just answer my questions for the hell of it.”  
Vega laughed, “You would be right about that. I’ll give you a free answer though, in case you didn’t know, her real name is-“ Before she could finish, I tossed my ball, bouncing it into the back-right corner cup.  
“Boom, two cups.” I smirked again.  
“We’re getting totaled.” Jake laughed, passing one cup to Vega and they chugged it down.  
I looked at Clint. “I will agree to answer questions.”  
He smiled slightly, sinking his ball into a cup without looking away from me. “Okay, first question-“  
“Oh, no. I made it first. You need to answer my question.”  
He nodded. “Okay. They got five beers to drink. We have a minute, ask away.”  
“Why are you talking to me? Jake and Vega, I get. Vega is pretty popular, and Jake is just about the coolest person I’ve ever met. But I’m...”  
“Standoffish?” Jake volunteered between gulps.  
“I was gonna say bitchy, but sure.” I laughed and I could see Jake smile and wink behind his cup.  
Clint made a face like he was thinking about it. “You seem like the type of person that has a lot of layers to you. Everyone else here seems to wear exactly who they are on their sleeve and that’s honestly pretty boring. It’s like...well, you’re cut from a different cloth, and they don’t make it anymore.”  
I nodded as I thought about what he said. “I like that. Okay. Your turn.”  
“Well, the obvious question would be why you go by Frito. I feel like there’s definitely an interesting story there. But what I actually want to ask is why you try to make it seem like you hate people.”  
I was taken aback. “What?”  
“I’ve seen you around school, every time you start to crack a smile around anyone that isn’t inside your immediate friend circle, it’s like you force your features back into a deadpan stare to keep from relaxing around anyone else. And I lived around here until I turned ten, so I remember the outgoing and friendly girl you used to be. It seems like part of you wants to open up and enjoy new people, but a larger part of you would prefer to keep yourself shut away.”  
I took a deep breath. Vega and Jake looked at me with concern. “It’s been a rough few years.”  
Jake moved around the table and pulled me into a hug. “Hey, you don’t have to.”  
I shook my head. “No. It’s okay. I’m okay.” Jake pulled away but stayed close. His expression clearly telling Clint not to push this further than I was willing to say. “I don’t let people get close to me anymore. But you’re right, it used to be different. Vega, Jake, Skye, they’ve known me since I was a baby, literally. They’ve seen me at my highest points,” I instinctively curled my wrists into my body, “And they’ve seen me at my lowest. A lot of crazy things have happened to me, including a very...let’s say overzealous fan. And it’s just easier to keep my life the way it is than to accept change because of it.” I grabbed my drink and took a big gulp. “Does that answer satisfy you?” Clint glanced at Jake before giving me a quick nod.  
He cleared his throat, “You took out two cups, you can ask a second question if you want.”  
I turned to Jake as he went back to his side of the table but directed my question to Clint. “I wanna ask why you were helping the football players rate girls.”  
The outside lighting was dim, but I could see Clint’s face take on a redder shade out of the corner of my eye. “I don’t have a good answer for that. It was my second or third day at this school and they caught me on the stairs and just started pointing out girls and asking me what score I’d give them. They kept correcting whatever I said. I got to spend a solid twenty minutes of lunch that day hearing why I was wrong. But if you go to the college, how’d you know about that?”  
Jake laughed, “Frito has a job at the high school. She works in the office.”  
Clint’s eyes widened for a second, “I thought that hair looked familiar. You look vastly different in professional clothes.”  
I rolled my eyes and caught the ball as Vega tossed it back. I threw it as I turned to look back at Clint, hearing the splash. “Your throw.” He gave me a level stare before turning back to the cups and tossing just to the side of the back cup. “Aw, there goes our shut out.” I laughed, and then he laughed, too. “You can have my question.”  
Clint looked at us, and finally asked the obvious one he avoided to begin with. “So, I don’t know if you ever realized we had, like, three years of classes together. You always had your head buried in some textbook or notebook, so I know your real name is Traivon. But why do you go by Frito?”  
“Frito is a nickname I picked up in sixth grade when I ate four bags of the chili cheese ones to myself at my birthday party.”  
Clint smiled, “A woman after my own heart, those ones are the best.”  
“So, no comment on me having a guy’s name?”  
He shrugged as Vega and Jake took their shots. Vega took out the front cup and Jake missed. I grabbed the cup before Clint could and chugged it while he continued, “Even if you were a guy, I’d be interested in getting to know you. I don’t care, boy, girl, it doesn’t matter. I like people for who they are, not what they are.”  
Vega had her usual grin on her face, and I pointed at her, “Not a word out of you.”  
She held her hands up innocently. “I have no idea what you mean. Your shots.”  
I bounced the ball into a middle cup. “Two left to your eight.” I grinned at Clint.  
He laughed, “You are unbelievable.” He shook his head, tossing his ball into one of the last remaining cups.  
“Come on!” I leaned into Clint’s shoulder a little bit as the alcohol slowly began to steal my balance and I called over to my friends, “I’m thirsty over here.”  
“I’m sure you are.” It was a voice behind me, and I froze. “Not surprised your pushing yourself on the new guy.”  
I didn’t look. I downed my drink and set the glass down. Clint turned around, “What’s your problem, man? Who even invited you?”  
“You posted an open invite, so my girlfriend was already coming.” I heard a giggle I recognized from all the times I hung out with Jake and Melanie.  
Clint shook his head, “We’re just trying to have a good time.”  
“Yeah, she’s good at that.”  
My hands started to shake, and Jake was beside me before I even registered him moving. “Come on, let’s go back inside.” But my feet wouldn’t move. I gripped the table, focusing on anything else. I knew Vega was beside Clint, saying something but I couldn’t hear anyone else.  
The voice was clear in the air. “She’s just gonna drag you down, man. It’s all she’s good at.” I could hear the damn smirk enter his voice. “Well, not all she’s good at.”  
I spun around before I could stop myself. Will. Of course, it was Will. “Can’t you ever just leave me alone?” My voice was monotone despite my raging feelings. “I haven’t spoken to you in four fucking years.”  
“And yet you dressed to catch attention tonight. Not a surprise, you always loved showing skin.” Melanie was draping herself all over him. “Or at least, what skin you haven’t chopped up.” I crossed my arms, tucking my wrists into my chest. I knew it wouldn’t remedy the situation, but I couldn’t help it. “Are you trying to take my sloppy seconds, or just hoping the new kid won’t find out what trash you are?”  
My anger flared. “Leave Jake out of this. You were never good enough for him. And as for Clint, we’re just trying to play a game. At his party.” Jake gently placed a hand on my shoulder.  
“Oh, yeah, play a game.” Will smirked again, “You’re the same as always. Just a slut that cried wolf.”  
BAM.  
I blinked. Will was on the ground and Clint was shaking out his hand. “Get out.”  
Will looked up at him, holding his jaw. “Are you serious, man?”  
“Dead. Get out of my house.” Clint’s tone took on a seriousness I hadn’t heard before, and Will slowly got to his feet and marched out of the backyard, Melanie trailing behind him shooting me a glare. As soon as they were out of sight, Clint looked at me. “Are you okay?”  
“Me?” There was worry in his eyes, and it was weird, suddenly I wanted to tell him everything. “I’m fine. He’s always like that.”  
Jake shook his head next to us. “I can’t believe we had to run into them when you were finally having a good time. If anyone deserves a good time, it’s you. I should’ve seen them behind you.”  
“Hey, no. You aren’t responsible for that guy. How are you after seeing her with him?”  
“I think it helped me get over whatever nonsense made me keep going back to her. Nobody talks to you that way.”  
He hugged me and when I glanced down, I saw Clint’s hand already starting to swell. “Clint! You need to get ice on that immediately.”  
Clint looked down, brow furrowing as he realized he hurt himself. “Damn, I forgot I hit him for a second.”  
I grabbed his other hand. “Come on, I’ll help you.” I pulled him toward the door and Jake called after us.  
“We’ll meet you in there. Vega and I are gonna set up Clint’s instruments so we can play. And don’t worry I’ve got your jacket.”  
I pulled Clint with me to the bar, pushing him into a stool. I walked around and scooped ice into a towel before taking the stool next to him and gently putting the ice on his hand. He winced through his teeth. “Sorry.”  
He shook his head, “Naw, don’t be sorry. Yeah, it hurts, but I don’t regret it. That guy is clearly a dick.”  
It was quiet between us for a moment as I continued to press the ice to his hand. “So,” I finally broke the silence, “You really aren’t gonna ask what that was about?”  
“It seemed personal.” He shrugged. “I want to get to know you, but I’m not gonna pry.”  
I kept my eyes on his hand. “Well, you go to school here now. You’ll hear about it eventually. Or at least a version of it.” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. “I went out with Will. Once. At a party back in high school. My friend Skye set it up, and she refused to let me back out. I drank way too much. I don’t remember most of that night. I remember waking up while...things were happening. I panicked and I shut down. Will told everyone how easy I was. My parents got a protection order against him and he had to change schools, but the order expired on my birthday last week. And the girl was Melanie. She and Jake were on again off again for the worse part of the last two years. They were supposed to come together tonight actually, but she told him he wouldn’t be allowed to hang out with us, and he didn’t agree so they broke up again.” I opened my eyes again and he was watching me intently. “And anyway, that’s the story.”  
Slowly, Clint took my hand in his, rotating it so he could see my wrists. He trailed a thumb gently over my scars. He looked up meeting my eyes. “You don’t deserve to be treated like that.”  
I heard the screech of a guitar and whipped my head in the direction of the living room as Jake’s voice came over the speakers. “Who wants to hear The Mousai’s Cradle play tonight?” The house erupted in cheers.  
Clint walked me over to the makeshift stage, passing me a guitar that sat nearby. “Guess I get to see you play after all.”  
“Lucky you.” I smiled and looked over to Vega. “Aphrodite Isn’t the Only Love Goddess?”  
She nodded and held up her sticks. “One, two, one, two, three, four!”  
We launched into the song, the intense drum beat washing over me as I gripped the guitar in my hand and approached the mic. I saw Skye appear in front of me, a huge grin on her face as she danced with a guy, I recognized from my speech class last year.  
“ _Aphrodite isn’t the only love goddess_  
_Looking at you I see nothing less_  
_You are my goddess of love_  
_Sending my heart soaring above_  
_You’re a gift on earth and beyond_  
_Your heart calls out, I feel mine respond_  
_I wanna tell the world about you_  
_Scream from the rooftops about you too_  
_Aphrodite isn’t the only love goddess_  
_You are my guiding light in all this mess_ ”  
I launched into my solo and I could feel my face relax into a smile. I saw Jake bobbing his head to the music, and when my eyes locked with his, beyond all reason I shot him a wink. Vega’s drums kicked back in, and then so did Jake’s bass. Eventually the last note rang out and everyone was cheering us on. Something about playing with them always left me feeling on cloud nine. Skye jumped onto the stage and pulled me into a hug.  
“I didn’t know you guys were gonna play tonight!”  
I hugged her tight. “Yeah, neither did I. One minute we’re playing beer pong with Clint and getting harassed by Will and Melanie, and then Jake is announcing us to the party.”  
Skye’s head snapped up. “Will? Where the hell is he? I’ll feed him his own fingers if he comes near you again.” That was Skye. Giggly to protective as quick as a pit bull attack.  
I waved my hand. “Don’t worry about it. Clint kicked them out.” I glanced at the clock. “Oh, shit! It’s already eleven forty-five!”  
Skye’s eyes bulged, “Where’s Vega and Jake?”  
“Jake! Vega!” They popped up as I called. “We gotta move! I have fifteen minutes to get home!”  
“Band sleepover! Just like old times.” Jake grinned throwing his arm around my shoulders. “Should we say goodbye to Clint?”  
“No time.” Part of me just didn’t want to see him again tonight and used my curfew as an excuse. I snatched my jacket off a nearby chair and booked it out to the car. In the dim streetlights I saw something on the window.  
A rose.  
“Another one?” Skye hiccupped as she dropped into the back seat. “What’s this one say?”  
I opened the note and read it out to them, “I’ve never heard a voice so much like velvet.” I grimaced as I tossed it up with the other one, the words sparking a memory I wanted to suppress. “These are getting weird.”

  
I woke up the next morning when Jake’s arm smacked me in the face as he rolled over beside me. I grumbled as I pushed him out of the way and stepped over Vega and Skye to get to my bedroom door. I tip toed into the kitchen, unsure if anyone else was awake, but in desperate need of coffee. I had gotten home with enough piece of mind to change into my sweats, and lend the rest of them something to sleep in. Unfortunately it basically led to Vega wearing just a triple x large t shirt with a pair of shorts I still had after track practice ended, and Jake just getting a pair of sweat pants from my dad’s days in the Marines, and then we put on a movie and basically passed out. I looked at the clock. Seven twelve. Yup, coffee is needed. My phone dinged as I set the pot to brew. One new friend request. “Who the hell?” I clicked into Facebook. Clint Peterson. “He thinks we’re friends now?” I left it unresponded. I needed to talk to my friends before I ignored it. I heard a knock on the door and groaned. “Who the fuck is here at seven on a Saturday?” I trudged to the door. No one there. But another rose. I stepped onto the porch, peering around the corner of the house, but there was no one around. “This is getting weird.” I picked it up and the note fell into my hand.  
_“You sleep like an angel.”_  
I ran back in the house and slammed and locked the door. I bolted up the stairs and burst through my door, warranting a groan from Skye as it smacked her leg. “Frito, what the hell?”  
“What the hell nothing.” My whole body was shaking, and I fell to my knees.  
She sat up quickly as she saw me hyperventilating. “What’s going on? Jake! Vega!” She reached up and shook Jake’s shoulder. She saw the note in my hand. “Trai, what’s that?”  
I passed it to her, taking gulps of air but still not able to catch my breath. “Please tell me it was one of you. I heard a knock and there was another one and this was with it but there was no one there and I don’t know-“  
Jake was wide awake now, grabbing around for his t shirt before just giving up, he slid off the bed and crawled over next to me. “Breathe, come on, stay with me. Deep breathes, we don’t want an asthma attack.” He wrapped his arms around me and gently stroked my back. “Calm down, and then tell us what happened.”  
“I heard a knock on the door. There was no one there, but there was another rose with this note.” Skye passed the note to Jake and he froze.  
“Is this some kind of sick joke?”  
I started breathing heavy again, “It really wasn’t any of you?”  
“No, no, we wouldn’t do this to you. Not after Mar-“ Skye smacked him before he could finish the sentence.  
So, I finished it, my words rushing out. “Martin. After Martin. We’re all thinking it. But it can’t be him, right? I mean he’s still supposed to be locked up, isn’t he? They haven’t told me he’s getting released.” My hands were still shaking. Skye was on her feet and pounding on my parent’s door before I could stop her.  
My mom opened it, rubbing sleep from her eyes, “Skye, honey, what’s wrong?”  
“It’s Martin!” Skye yelled, passing my mom the note and my mom’s eyes went wide as she dropped it. Skye immediately scooped it back up.  
“Jason! Jason, wake up! I’m going to call Uncle Frank.” She bolted back into her room and came out with her cell phone. She muttered as she walked down the hall, “I swear if they released that boy and didn’t give my baby girl warning, I will rain down hell.”  
My dad stumbled groggily into the hallway. “Huh? What’s going on?” He looked at my panicked state and ran over, kneeling on the side of me Jake wasn’t on, “Hey, hey, what’s going on, sweet girl?”  
I couldn’t talk. I was shaking and my brain couldn’t make the words come it. I was rocking back and forth, quietly sobbing. Jake continued rubbing my back. “She’s been getting roses with little notes since yesterday. They were pretty normal, and we passed them off as a Valentine’s Day thing, until someone knocked on the door this morning and left a new one.” He reached over to take it from Skye and passed the slip of paper to my dad.  
My dad’s fist clenched around the note. “Where has she been receiving them?”  
Vega sleepily sat up as Skye answered, “First two were on the welcome mat, and then one on the car windshield when we left the party, and the last one was on the welcome mat again.” My dad muttered something about checking in with my mom and disappeared out the door.  
I buried my head in my hands and kept muttering to myself over and over again, “what am I gonna do what am I gonna do what am I gonna-“  
“Hey,” Jake gently shook me. “We. We are gonna be with you through this. Just like last time.”  
I could feel the tears running down my cheeks and I threw my arms around his neck, burying my face in his shoulder. “I can’t handle this again. You guys know what happened to me last time.”  
“Hey,” Vega’s voice was ragged and full of sleep. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but we’re here.” Skye walked over and quietly whispered what happened in her ear. Vega flew across the room and wrapped her arms around me and Jake. “Okay, yeah, Jake is definitely right. We’re gonna help you through this. That bastard isn’t going to get near you again.”  
My parents appeared at the door. My dad’s face was stone. Unreadable. My mom’s eyes were watery. Her voice was so small. “I just spoke with Uncle Frank. Since he’d been in maximum security at the hospital for almost two years with no incident, they moved Martin into a low supervision ward two days ago. He escaped yesterday morning. Frank tried to call us, but after they suggested we get our numbers changed he lost our new information. He came by yesterday while you were in class, so no one was here, and he didn’t want to leave any information about it lying around so he didn’t leave a note.”  
Jake’s arms wrapped tighter around me, and he pulled me into his lap, just rocking me back and forth. “It’s okay, Frito. He won’t get to you again.” He looked up at my mom, “Have you called the school? The dean gave us his cell number in case something happened again.”  
“Oh!” She exclaimed. “You are so right. I’ll go do that now. Why don’t you kids make a list of anything you need to spend the weekend in the house, and I’ll give your parents a call?”

  
Hours went by, my friends just took turns holding me. They didn’t push me to talk. They just sat with me in silence while I cried through this happening. Again. Eventually, I sat up. “Okay. Okay. Enough of this.” I wiped my face. “You guys don’t want to spend our weekend listening to this shit again. Let’s watch a movie or something.”  
Vega smiled softly at me, “Sure thing. What are we in the mood for?” She stepped over to my nightstand and scooped up my remote. “I know you love that Liam Neeson movie on Hulu.”  
A laugh came out and caught me off guard. “I’ve made you guys watch that so many times.”  
Skye bumped my shoulder, “So, what’s one more time?” She grinned, pulling me and Jake over to my bed.  
There was a knock on the door, and my mom popped her head in. “Hey, sweetheart. You left your phone downstairs; it’s gone off a couple times.” She held it out and Vega passed it to me. “I don’t remember that case.”  
“Jake had it made for my birthday.” I held up my phone with the lyrics to one of our songs in white script across the black background. “It’s the words to Zeus’s Tirade of Dreams.”  
“Always the thoughtful man. And here’s some clothes that everyone’s parents dropped off when I called them. Also, would you guys like me to order pizza or Chinese for dinner?” She dropped a couple bags inside the door.  
We all yelled Chinese in unison and my mom laughed and shut the door. Skye looked at me for a second, “Do you ever think it’s weird that they can see you cuddled up with any of us and never question it? Especially Jake. Most parents would not be okay with it.”  
I shrugged a bit, “We used to all take our naps together, so it’s probably one of those things where they see our baby versions all together.”  
Vega giggles, “My parents get worried if I’m too close to Frito, but they don’t care how close I get to you two.”  
I winked at her and we laughed again. “And I mean, they have bigger things to worry about in my life.”  
Skye sighed for a second, “You’re right. Have you checked your phone?”  
“Oh,” I unlocked my screen to a couple regular notifications about my posts and a message. “I have a message from...Clint?”  
Vega squeaked. “I knew he liked you!”  
Jake laughed, “I think we all knew that. What did he say? I bet he was bummed we bailed out without saying goodbye.”  
I shook my head. “I meant to tell you guys before...” I just sort of gestured to the door. “He sent me a friend request. Wasn’t really sure how to respond-“  
“What do you mean? You accept it!” Vega said enthusiastically.  
Jake nodded, “I mean he had some serious sparks flying last night,” he nudged Skye, “You missed an interesting time.”  
“Oh, I want details.” Skye grinned. I loved them for this. My world was basically crumbling to dust at the hands of a stalker for the second time, and they were doing their best to keep my spirits up. I clicked play on the movie instead of giving her the details. She waved her hand in the air, “Fine, fine, but you should answer him.”  
I sighed, picking my phone back up, but as soon as I unlocked it, Skye snatched it out of my hand. “Hey!” I reached for it, but Jake and Vega grabbed my arms, giggling. “You guys can be jerks.” I grumbled as I gave up fighting.  
“Let’s see, he said ‘hey sorry I missed you before you left. Seeing you play was incredible. Would love to hang out again.’” Skye jumped up and down giddily. “Ohhhhhhhh, he’s definitely crushing on you.”  
“You guys might be fully insane.” I shook my head.  
“We’re insane?” Jake laughed, “Either you don’t see how you amazing you are, or you purposely ignore it. Come on, he could not keep his eyes off you last night.”  
I grimaced, “That’s because of the outfit Skye had me wear. I’m not even sure I like him as a person. And I just don’t want to pull him into this nightmare.” I realized Skye was still typing away on my phone. “Uh, Skye? What’s happening over there?”  
She grinned up at me. “I may have invited him to join us for the afternoon. And he may have said he’ll be here in, like, forty-five minutes.”  
“YOU WHAT?”  
Jake laughed and Vega hopped up, “Okay, you go hop in the shower. Skye and I will look through your closet and find something cute but casual.” She pushed me to the door, “Go, go. Jake, you should probably let mom and dad know we invited another friend over.”  
I gave up fighting. I knew it did no good. Twenty minutes later I was standing in front my bathroom mirror wearing the yellow skinny jeans and black and grey tank top Vega had brought in, having just finished blow drying my hair and now letting Skye screw with my face. “Are you done yet? Isn’t this gonna look like I’m trying a bit hard if I’m in full make up and you aren’t?”  
Skye scoffed, “Oh, please. Vega and I can get our make-up done in three minutes. And we still have...fifteen before he’s supposed to get here. Now close your eyes.”  
I sighed but complied. “Are we sure this is a good idea? Inviting him over like nothing’s happening?”  
It was quiet for a while. Skye took a deep breath. “Traivon. Look at me.” I slowly opened my eyes. “I want you to listen to me very carefully. Yes, Martin is back. And yes, it is absolutely terrifying. Not just for you, but for all of us. He almost took you from us. But you need to understand that you still deserve a normal life. And we have your back.” She gently took my wrists in her small hands. “When Martin did this, and you were stuck in the hospital...we were all terrified. You were the only one that could pull yourself through it. You thought you had to face that battle alone. But you don’t. You never have to battle alone. You just have to let us love you enough to take up arms with you. And honestly, you might like this guy. Don’t let this bastard take away the little bit of love you might find for yourself.”  
I chuckled for a second. “Love might be a bit of a stretch.” We shared a smile. “But thank you.”  
The doorbell rang. “Oh, crap! My speech took longer than I thought. Jake! Answer the door!” She swung the bathroom door shut and it was a flurry of brushes and make up as Skye finished. “Okay,” she grinned, “You look perfect, and Vega and I look good enough that you won’t look weird, but not so good that we’ll outshine you. Let’s go!”  
I took a deep breath and opened the door. I muttered as we approached my door, “I’m so scared.”  
Vega reached over and squeezed my hand. “It’ll be fine. Just like last night. We’ll be your buffer.”  
Skye pushed the door open, “What’s up, guys? Having fun without us?”  
Jake laughed and Clint broke into a grin. Clint’s dark blonde hair fell over his eyes as he looked up at us, and I hadn’t noticed how toned his muscles were in the dim light of the party. I realized I was staring and averted my eyes to look at the floor. “Hey, Clint. Glad you could join us.”  
“That might be the nicest thing you’ve said since we met.” He grinned. “You’re looking great. Guess the party didn’t wear on you too hard.”  
“This girl doesn’t get hangovers. I’m both jealous and annoyed. She’ll come off a three-day binge with no sleep and ace her midterms. But speaking of the party, how about Vega, Jake, and me go grab some drinks and snacks out of the kitchen and you guys dig through Frito’s closet for the board games.” Skye grinned, pulling Vega and Jake out the door before I could stop her.  
I put my hand on my face. Clint chuckled beside me, “Your friends have the subtlety of a heart attack.”  
“Yeah, tell me about it.” I glanced at him and we both started laughing. “So, wanna help me look for these games? My closet has this weird crawl space and I need help reaching it.” He nodded and followed me over to the door. I reached up and pushed the clothes out of the way to reveal a door about two feet above my head. “Okay, usually I just force my computer chair in here, but if you can do that finger locked hand step thing it’ll be much easier.” He laughed and boosted me up to the door. I was acutely aware of how close we were as I swung the small door open and crawled in.  
“How can you even fit in there?”  
“I’m very small?” I replied through a laugh. “I can almost reach them.” I crawled to the back and grabbed the game boxes and passed them to Clint. As I moved to turn around, my face brushed against something fuzzy. “Ah! Ohmygods! What is that!?” I flailed my hands in front of my face and fell out of the door. I looked up and realized Clint caught me.  
“Are you okay?” He looked me over carefully.  
I could feel my face flushing. “Uh, yeah. I ran into something furry and it freaked me out.”  
He gently set me in my feet, then reached up and grabbed the little door frame and did a pull up to see inside. He started laughing as he reached one hand in and pulled out...my old Furby.  
I buried my face in my hands. “I’m so embarrassed.”  
“In fairness,” he grinned down at me as he landed on his feet, “These things can be very creepy.”  
I smiled back at him for a second, “Hey, wait a second, if you could just pull yourself up there, why didn’t you just say so?”  
His grin turned a little shy. “Honestly, I just figured it would be the closest I got to you being in my arms.”  
My face started to flush again as the door opened. “Frito! Your dad got your favorites.” Vega set some glasses on my desk while Jake held up bottles of rum and orange juice. “Thank god they lowered the drinking age. I think we all need one after the morning you had.”  
Clint looked puzzled, “What happened this morning?”  
Jake froze. “I’m sorry. I forgot you here for a second.” Jake looked over at me panicked while Skye shot him a glare.  
Clint held up his hands, “I’m sensing this is a personal thing for Traivon, so I’ll just leave it alone.”  
“Really?” I asked.  
He shrugged, “Yeah.” He glanced at my friends for a second before looking back at me. “I want to get to know you on your terms. Not push you into doing it on mine.”  
Skye sighed, “Aww, I love him already. You two are my new OTP.”  
“Can we, uh, please move this conversation on? Now?” I grabbed the rum out of Jake’s hand, pouring some in a glass and downing it.  
“You know,” Clint started, “I wanted to ask why the black carpet. I mean your room is pretty punk rock, with the movie posters and black out curtains, but black carpets are a bit unusual.”  
I shrugged; I wasn’t going to tell him that black was meant to replace the blood stained one we threw out. “Shows less mess.”  
Vega forced a smile, moving the conversation along, “What should we play first?”  
We spent hours playing games. Monopoly, Yahtzee, Cards Against Humanity. Eventually, dinner got there, and we settled into the various spaces around my room to start playing truth or dare. Clint was sitting in my computer chair, Vega and Skye were sprawled on the couch, and I hung my head off the foot of my bed with my feet propped up on the wall. Jake looked a little lost until Skye stood up and pushed him down to sit beside me. “Okay, Vega. Truth or dare.” Skye began.  
“Truth.”  
“Okay, let’s start medium. Any girls you crushing on?” Clint’s eyebrows raised for a second, “Yes, Clint. Vega is a lesbian, keep up.”  
Vega laughed, “Honestly, I’ve been talking to that girl Bridget went with to slam poetry night, Rosa. She’s hella smart and an absolute goddess.”  
I nodded, “Yeah, definitely an eleven on the scale. Why don’t you invite her over?”  
“I feel like that might be rushing it a bit.” She said simply, and then giggled as she glanced at me. “Lesbians work at different speeds than straight people.”  
“Hey, the only straight person in our friend group is Skye.” I retaliated and we laughed. “Wait, no assumptions are being made about you, Clint. You’re just in your own column right now.”  
“No, it’s fine,” he chuckled, “I’m classified as demisexual. I fall in love with someone’s mind and the body attached doesn’t matter.”  
“So long as there is a body attached, right?” I said, and we all laughed again as he nodded.  
Vega grinned, “Anyway, Clint, truth or dare.”  
“Truth.”  
“Okay, what made you decide to join our band of misfits?”  
He ran a hand through his hair and glanced around the room. “Honestly, everyone else just seems way too into themselves.” Vega nodded once, indicating that was a sufficient answer. “Jake, truth or dare?”  
Jake laughed, “Yeah, I’m going truth.”  
“Okay, have you ever thought about dating Skye? The two of you seem especially close.”  
Vega and I broke into laughter so hard that I fell off my bed. I threw my hands up. “You did not just ask him that. Oh geez, I’m dying,” I kept laughing as Skye and Jake looked at each other horrified and put as much space between them as they could. “Oh, damn. You know Clint, they actually live together. And have since they shared a womb.”  
“Oh!” He finally realized why we were laughing and chuckled a bit himself. “I’m so sorry.”  
Jake shook his head, “I may be bi, but I’m not incestual, so clearly I have not thought about dating Skye. But in the interest of a fascinating game, I’ll answer about Vega and Frito, too.”  
I held up my hands in mock surrender, “I don’t need to hear this. Leave me out of it.” Jake had a soft look in his eye as he helped me off the floor.  
Vega on the other hand leaned in, “I’m very intrigued.”  
Jake winked at her. “Well, until Vega came out of the closet in seventh grade, I thought I had a crush on her. Which was weird since we went through potty training together.”  
“Thought you had a crush on her?” Skye asked.  
Jake glanced at his feet, “I love Vega, but it turned out she wasn’t the one. Which is for the best. Getting shot down for a girl is awkward.”  
I laughed, “But isn’t that how you and Joey became friends? You asked him out, but he doesn’t date guys?”  
“I’ll give you that one. Moving on, I think it’s my turn.” Jake looked around the room, “Frito-“  
“Dare. You aren’t getting my truths that easy.”  
“Okay...” His brow creased as he looked deep in thought. “I dare you to let me type out a flirty text. You can decide if you send it.”  
“Easy. Here.” I unlocked my phone and passed it over to him. Tap tap tap. “I need to turn the sound off on that thing. I hate the keyboard clicks.” He handed it back after a minute. I immediately lost it giggling. “Seriously?” He just waggled his eyebrows as I held up my phone and clicked send.  
“Yeeeeeeees! Frito playing to win!”  
Skye raised an eyebrow, “You can’t win truth or dare.”  
Ding.  
Clint grabbed his phone and read the message out loud, “That shirt is very becoming on you. Of course, if I were on you, I’d be cumming too.” Everyone dissolved into giggles. “That’s a good one, Jake. I don’t think I’ve heard it before.”  
“I actually heard it at Circuit Boards before a show when a guy said it to Frito. He walked away wearing his beer.”  
Clint laughed harder, “Is that why you chose that one in particular?”  
Vega chimed in, “I could probably write a book of all the times a guy tried to hit on her, and she shot him down after the first sentence. She actually loves those lines; she just doesn’t like when someone actually uses them to hit on a person. Like, if you said something like that yesterday when you first talked to her, she would’ve written you off without giving you the time of day, but because we built a relationship with her first, we use them all the time.”  
“Oh!” I turned to Skye, “What was that one you used the other day?”  
She looked at Clint. “How much does a polar bear weigh?”  
“I don’t know. How much does a polar weigh?”  
“Enough to break the ice.”  
We all laughed again, and I propped my feet back up on the wall. Jake looked at me funny from beside me, “What?”  
He shrugged, “You’re gonna fall off again.”  
“Worth it. This is comfortable.”  
“At least move closer to me, I’ll keep you from falling.”  
“Why don’t you join me like this? You usually do. And then we can keep each other from falling off.” He nodded, and then rotated himself around to lay beside me with his feet propped up on the wall. “Better?”  
“Yeah, this is pretty comfy.” He smiled and his arm gently brushed against mine.  
Vega cleared her throat, “Can we keep playing now?”  
“Uh, yeah, Skye, truth or dare.”  
“Dare.”  
“I dare you tooooooooo....send our guidance counselor fan mail.”  
Jake barked out a laugh. Clint looked confused. “I strongly feel like I’m missing something.”  
Skye and Vega raised their hands. “Us too.”  
“Oh, man. I forgot you guys weren’t there. Once in study hall, Jake and I were working one the lyrics to our second album, Miss Ginsberg came in and started telling us about how she was a writer. She writes fan fictions for Star Trek. She gave us her website handle and left. Our study hall spiraled really quick as we fell down that rabbit hall. It’s pretty gnarly.” I laughed again. “Give me your phone, I’ll show you. You can leave anonymous comments on the site.” I took her phone and brought up the page. “Look, it’s even got Spock-Scotty fan art.”  
“Ooh,” Clint grimaced, “That is intense.”  
“Dear god, just let me do this and get it over with. ‘O-M-G, this is AMAZING! Please never stop, you are, like, a fan fic goddess! Can you do Kirk-Bones fics please?’ There. Sent.” She showed her posted comment. “Now I’m going to clear this site from my history forever.”  
I laughed so hard I started to fall again, and Jake reached his arm out and caught my waist. “Careful. Told you that you would fall again.”  
I cleared my throat, “Yup. You did. Thank you for the help.” I scooted further onto the bed and realized I was directly pressed against his side, “Oh! I’m sorry.”  
I went to move away, and he caught me, “No, you’re fine. This is nice. I mean if you’re okay with it.”  
“Uh, okay.”  
Skye whistled at us. “Adorable. Frito, truth or dare.”  
“I feel like I’m gonna regret this. Dare.”  
“Okay,” She grinned mischievously. “I dare you to give Clint a kiss. Wherever you want to. Cheek. Forehead. Lips.” Vega gave her a high-five.  
“W-what?” I felt my eyes widen, Jake stiffened beside me and I shot a glance his way.  
He smiled, but it seemed forced, “You know Skye won’t force you to if you don’t want to.”  
Skye grinned in her seat, “No, but I think it’d be cute for her to finally have her first kiss.”  
“Skye!” I covered my face with my hands before getting to my feet and leaving the room.  
“Frito! Wait!”

  
I shut the door, walking down the stairs and out the front door. The sun was setting outside as I sat on the porch swing. The chill of the air on my shoulders, I leaned my head back.  
“You look like you could use someone to talk to.”  
Every part of me froze. It couldn’t be.  
“Ah, don’t tell me you’re gonna ignore me again. It’s been so long since I’ve heard your voice in person. Listening to the trial tapes just...aren’t the same.”  
I slowly tilted my head down. The familiar medium frame and dark hair stood before me. His piercing green eyes boring into mine. “M-Martin? You aren’t supposed to be here.” I flinched as he sat beside me.  
“It’s been so long since I’ve heard my name leave your lips.” His hand brushed against the side of my neck as he leaned close to me. “Your uncle wants to keep us apart. Those people don’t understand us. They can’t see that you’re meant to be with me. You’re meant to spend your life with me. It’s okay that you met this new guy. You thought I was gone; you couldn’t mourn me forever. I forgive you for bringing him home to meet dad, even though you never did that with me. Just remember that he’ll never love you like I do. And you will be mine again one day.” He clasped my hand tightly. I yelped. “No, shh, shh, I could never hurt you. Not unless you made me.”  
“Martin, p-please...” I could feel tears stinging my eyes and flinched again as he reached a hand up to stroke my cheek. I could hear my friends calling my name, but I didn’t dare call back to them. Footsteps pounded down the stairs and their voices came closer.  
“Looks like our time was cut short again.” He stood up abruptly, backing down the path to the sidewalk. “We’ll be together soon enough.”  
The front door flew open just as Martin made it to the street, and Jake’s voice rang out. “GET BACK HERE YOU FUCKING CREEP!” His feet pounded down the porch steps and after Martin, but he was gone. No one could ever catch him.  
I curled in on myself, letting the tears stream down my face. Skye was beside me, wrapping me up in her arms, “Clint, go in the kitchen and tell her parents to get their asses out here!” He disappeared back through the doorway. “It’s okay, Trai, cry it out. I can’t believe we missed him. I can’t believe we weren’t there for you again...”  
I heard more footsteps thunder my way, and my dad entered my field of vision carrying his handgun. “Where is that son of a bitch!?”  
Vega pointed down the sidewalk where you could just make out Jake’s back still running. “Jake went after him!”  
“Lydia, keys!” My mom ran in the house, returning and handing my dad his car keys. He peeled out of the driveway, taking out our mailbox in the process, and gunned it down the road.  
“Come on, girls, back in the house. Traivon is safest inside.” My mom’s voice seemed far away.  
“No, I’m not!” I screamed. The shock on their faces wasn’t enough to stop me, “I’m never gonna be safe from him! It’s been two YEARS since he got locked away and he still hasn’t let go of this idea that I’m meant to be with him! To die with him! I hate myself. I hate myself, okay!? I just want this nightmare of a life to be over!” I curled up again, crying with renewed fervor.  
Clint awkwardly cleared his throat and turned to my mom, “Um, do you want us to take her inside?”  
I felt worse, hearing my mom sniffle. She didn’t know what to do any more than I did, and she hated feeling helpless. She must have nodded, because the next thing I knew, Clint was picking me up. “Hey!”  
“Hey nothing. I may not know what’s going on here, but everyone seems to think it’s better if you go inside, so that’s where we’re going.” He pulled me closer to his chest and I just surrendered.  
Skye was dialing on her phone. “Hello? Is this Detective Norm?...Sir, I will only speak to Detective Norm...I don’t care if you need to patch me through to his cell phone or his home phone or whatever you have to do, I need to speak to him now!...Thank you.” She covered the receiver for a moment and looked at Clint. “Go ahead in, Vega will join you. I’ll come back with Jake.” Then she turned her attention back to her phone as Clint carried me into the living room and set me on the couch, sitting down across from me.  
It was quiet, and eventually everyone else came back in. My dad stared at the floor, looking dejected. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. We couldn’t find him.” I kept crying, and Clint reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. My dad cleared his throat, and Clint moved to back away, “No, no, no, not that. I don’t mind that. If you can offer comfort right now, then please do. I’m just wondering how much about this situation you know of.”  
“Sir, I’m gonna have to answer that with absolutely zero. I have no idea what’s going on.”  
“You...don’t?” My dad looked between each of us. “Jake, you’ve been like a son to me, and Vega and Skye are like daughters. You kids have called me dad for years. Do the three of you trust this boy?”  
They watched us for a moment, then looked at each other. Jake turned to my dad, his eyes sad, “I would be willing to trust him with Trai, dad. We haven’t known him long, but he definitely cares about her.”  
My dad nodded firmly once; his eyes locked on Clint. My dad was an intimidating man, measuring over six foot three and weighing somewhere around two forty of pure muscle. I could sense Clint force himself not to reflexively flinch away from his gaze. “I guess it’s up to Traivon then. If she wants to tell him what’s happening, or not, we’ll respect her decision.”  
His eyes met mine, “Hey, you don’t have to.”  
My mouth fell open for a second. “Even after what you just saw, my dad chasing after someone with a gun, Jake taking off like he’s fucking Usain Bolt, my hysterical freak out, you still would rather be blind to this?”  
He shrugged. “I told you, I’m not going to push you. You’re clearly going through...something. And I may not know what, but I can be here for you without pushing for information you aren’t ready to give.”  
I looked into his crystal blue eyes, my last wall crashing down, and I knew I needed to tell him. I couldn’t tell if I liked him, or if I could tell he would be a good friend, but I felt the urge to tell him. “It’s an awfully long story. But I want you to hear it. Just...can you promise me something?”  
“Anything.”  
“Please, don’t stop being my friend when you hear the story.”  
“I promise.”  
Skye cleared her throat, “How about I take mom and dad outside to keep watch? I don’t think they need to hear this again.” My mom gave a shaky nod and moved to follow Skye and my dad out the door.  
“Wait!” I bolted over to my mom. “Mom, I’m so sorry for yelling at you. I love you so much.” I pulled her into a hug.  
She squeezed me tight. “Oh sweetheart, I love you, too. We’ll be right outside.”  
I let her go and watched them walk out to the porch. I walked over slowly, sitting on the couch beside Jake, “Okay. This is a long, weird story.”  
Jake put his hand over mine, “You got this. We’re right here.”  
I took a deep breath, “You know about The Mousai’s Cradle. We do shows at Circuit Boards, you know that grunge tech bar downtown? Vega’s parents own it. It’s been a pretty regular gig since the start of high school. But about...what three and a half years ago?” I looked at Vega who gave me a quick nod. “We were about fourteen or fifteen and we did a show and this guy came up to me at the end of it. He introduced himself as Martin. He looked about nineteen or twenty at the time. But he was raving about how good we sounded, and that he came to every show.” I shivered at the thought. “I thanked him. He sounded like fan. Not a fanatic. He basically demanded buying us dinner at this family restaurant downtown, and we didn’t expect to see him again after we left the restaurant that night. But I started seeing him everywhere. Everyone thought I was crazy, hell I thought I was crazy, and we live in a small town, so it seemed normal to everyone that I’d see him. And I accepted that.” Jake was gripping his knees and I looked over at him.  
“I hate that. We dismissed it so easily.”  
“You made a logical assumption at the time.” I continued, “A few weeks later, I started receiving flowers. Each card contained lyrics from our songs. They were signed ‘from an admirer’. It started out happening every week or two. Then it happened every few days. Then I started getting one in the morning and one at night. Then every couple hours. It went on for over a year. Eventually they were signed. ‘Your soul mate, Martin.’” Vega shuddered and Jake reached over to place a hand on her shoulder.  
Jake broke in, “It was clear he was only interested in Traivon. The assumption was because she was the face of the band, but we never figured out the exact reason she was his focus.”  
I tensed but nodded, and turned back to Clint, his intent expression sincere. “Go ahead. Whenever you’re ready.”  
“One day that winter, we were supposed to have a show. But it was the day after my, um, evening with Will,” I cringed and Jake and Vega each wrapped an arm around me, “And we canceled. Martin showed up on my doorstep the next afternoon. It was around three thirty, my parents were still at work, and I had just gotten home from class when he rang the doorbell. He was angry, saying I betrayed him. I asked him what he meant, and he just kept talking about how we were meant to be together.” I realized I was squeezing my hands into fists. I took another deep breath. “Eventually, he just left. I was rattled, but I didn’t think anyone would believe me. Considering what happened with Will, I just couldn’t bring myself to mention it. A few days went by, no flowers or notes, so I thought maybe he gave up. We had a new show, and I saw him in the back. He had this...intense look on his face. About halfway through the show, he was just gone. I tried to ignore it, but I got this nagging feeling. I asked Skye and Jake if I could just crash at their place that night. I didn’t want to go home because I knew he would be waiting. Vega stayed with us, and they knew something was wrong. So, I told them. I mean, I tell them everything and I hated not bringing it up sooner. The next day, Jake walked me home, just to be safe. Nothing seemed off, and he had to meet Joey, so we said goodbye. My parents were working, so I let myself in and just planned to go to bed. But when I walked in my room...” I closed my eyes, tears spilling out as I saw the wild look on his face again.  
“No...” Clint’s hand covered his mouth, and Jake nodded sadly, his face covered in guilt.  
“He was waiting for me. He started yelling. Saying he’d been waiting for me all night, and how dare I keep my husband waiting. And then I saw the knife in his hand. I tried to back away but he’s so fast.” My voice cracked and Jake moved closer beside me to wrap me in a hug. “He blocked the door. He kept talking about how a wife shouldn’t act that way, and my panic got the better of me. I yelled at him. I said, ‘I’m not your wife, you’re almost a decade older than me.’ And he-he stepped closer. His voice took on this really eerie calm and he stroked my cheek saying that whether I wanted to believe it or not, I was his. I was frozen in place and before I could react, he managed to tie me to my chair.” My breath was coming in gulps and I stood up and started pacing around the room. “He told me if I couldn’t live my life with him, then he would end his with mine.” I absentmindedly stroked the scars as I paced. “He took the knife to my wrists and I could feel the blood pouring out. I knew it was bad. He sat on my bed, forcing me to face him. I heard the phone ring, but after a minute it stopped. He brushed his fingers down my throat. And then he sat back on the bed, but right as he started to take the knife to his own arm, I heard the front door open. Jake’s voice came up the stairs, saying something about Joey bailing so he came back to check on me because I didn’t answer the phone. He tried to open my door, but Martin had locked it. He was calling out to me, and I was too weak to reply, but I could see everything happening. I could see my white carpet turning red. I could see Martin put a finger to his lips as h-he leaned in to whisper in my ear. He told me if I warned Jake before he left, Jake would be next. And I couldn’t do that to Jake. Not my best friend. I love him too much.” I looked at Jake with tears running down my cheeks. “Jake is too important to me. So, I nodded. Martin tiptoed over to the door and twisted the lock open. When Jake came in, he immediately ran over to me, and Martin just ran. Jake heard him and tried to follow but he was already gone. Jake came back and untied me, putting pressure on the bleeding, and calling the cops. I was in the hospital for a while, and on the last night when I was supposed to go home, someone from the gift shop came in with flowers. They were wild tiger lilies, which are...were my favorite. Jake was sleeping in the chair beside me, and she must have thought that he sent someone to get them cause she kept smiling and looking between us. She said someone bought this bouquet for me. Said they were very secretive about the card, putting it in a sealed envelope so she couldn’t read it. I remember my hands were already shaking. I broke the seal on it. ‘We’re supposed to die together. Jake might have interfered this time, but our love will never end. It will rise again. Next time, I’ll get it right.’ I screamed, I threw the vase at the wall and it shattered. Jake launched himself out of the chair ready to fight someone, Vega was coming down the hall, and she came barreling threw the door. She immediately called my parents, and my mom called the detective in charge, my uncle. Eventually, they found him. He was trying to purchase a gun. The trial was a few weeks later. Two years ago, yesterday. And the judge ruled a protective order, and that he be detained in a maximum-security psych hospital. I thought I’d never see him again. Until yesterday. I came home and there was a rose on my porch. It had a note that said, ‘from your secret admirer’. Then another when Skye and I were leaving for your party. ‘I’ve never admired a girl so perfect.’ I didn’t suspect it might’ve been him until we were leaving the party that night. There was one on my windshield when we got to my car. ‘I’ve never heard a voice so much like velvet.’” I shuddered. “But the worst was this morning. I heard a knock on the door, and there was another one.”  
“‘You sleep like an angel.’” Jake said. His face was dark.  
“And that’s what brings us to now.” I moved to sit down again. “When I got outside, I just sat down. I was alone. But then there he was. Saying that he forgave me for bringing another guy home to meet my dad. That no one could ever love me like he could. That we’d be together soon. And then you guys came outside.” Cautiously I looked over at Clint, and I knew I still had tears streaming down my face. “So that’s the story. And if you want to leave now, you can. I won’t hold it against you. Regardless of the promise I don’t expect you to-“  
I stopped as he reached up and brushed the tears off my cheek. “I’m not going anywhere. You need all the backup you can get. I’ll be here as long as you want me here.”  
The front door cracked open. “Frito?” Skye’s voice came through, “Uncle Frank is here. He wants to talk to you about what happened.”  
I took a deep breath, and Jake squeezed my hand and Clint stood up and patted my shoulder. Jake whispered to me, “You got this, Frito. We’ll be right here. We’re not leaving you alone for anything ever again. We’re gonna do the damn buddy system until this bastard is dead.”  
Detective Frank Norm was middle aged, with salt and pepper hair. He had a gentle face, and he was the only cop on my case that showed me sincere sympathy. It might’ve been because he’s my mom’s brother, and to him nothing is more important than family. Or it might’ve been because he has a daughter, my cousin Meredith, and he’s afraid something like this could happen to her. “Hey, Traivon. I’m truly sorry we have to meet like this again. I definitely would’ve preferred our family dinners.” His grey eyes flicked over to the others, “Jacob, Vega, it’s good to see you here. And I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met, are you Traivon’s boyfriend?”  
“No, I’m, uh, I’m Clint.” Clint stood up and shook Uncle Frank’s hand.  
“Nice to meet you, Clint. I wish it were under better circumstances. I’m Detective Norm, Traivon’s uncle. She is a special girl and she doesn’t deserve this; no one does.”  
“I agree, sir. Absolutely.”  
There was a tense silence. My mom placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, “Frank, why don’t you take a seat next to Jason, and Trai can tell you about the last couple days.”  
And so, I did. Jake held one of my hands, and Vega held the other, so they’d stop shaking. As soon as I was finished, I scooped my messenger bag off the floor and rummaged through it until I found my cigarettes. “Oh, honey...” My mom looked so sad.  
“Mom, I’m sorry. But I just...” She nodded sadly and offered me her lighter.  
Uncle Frank cleared his throat, “Traivon, I know this is hard. I just have a couple questions.” I nodded, taking a long drag. “When you got the first rose, can you tell me why you didn’t call me?”  
“I didn’t want to raise a false flag. We thought he was still...”  
He nodded sadly. “No matter what, I don’t care if it turns out to be fake, I want you to call me about anything. This next question might be a little hard, but I need to ask, did Martin touch you at all?”  
My body locked up, “He...y-yes, he did.” My dad punched a wall, knocking some pictures to the floor. “I’m sorry!”  
He immediately spun around and knelt in front of me, “No, sweetheart, don’t you dare apologize. You haven’t done anything wrong.”  
Uncle Frank continued, “Traivon, I need to know exactly what he did. Can you show me?” He looked at my friends, “Vega, can you please...?”  
Vega nodded, turning to face me more, “Go ahead, if you can, just do what he did to me.”  
“W-well, he took my hand. Like this,” I gripped Vega’s hand, “And I was crying. So, he-“ my voice got caught in my throat as I reached up and brushed Vega’s cheek. She sucked in her breath at my trembling hand.  
“Is that everything? Was there anything else?” Uncle Frank was taking serious notes without looking away from me.  
“He just kept saying that no one would love me like him. And that we’d be together soon.” My voice was barely above a whisper.  
“You’re doing great, Traivon. I’m sorry it’s come to this again. What about the other boy that we had the protection order against? William Scofield? Has he been a bother at all?”  
Clint opened his mouth, but I cut him off, “No, not at all.” Uncle Frank glanced at Clint and back at me and nodded again.  
“Okay. I won’t take up any more time. There will be units parked outside until we catch him, and an officer will escort Traivon and the rest of you to and from school. I’ll need addresses for everyone’s pick up and drop off locations.”  
My dad piped in, “Here. All five of them, just pick them up and drop them off here. Clint, give me your father’s contact information and I’ll speak with him.”  
“Actually, my dad is the new chief of police here, which was why I moved back. But I live with my grandmother. She’s visiting my aunt right now, but I’ll give you her number.” He dug his phone out of his pocket and dialed up the number. “Just click the button when you’re ready and it’ll call her cell.” My dad shook Uncle Frank’s hand and stepped into the kitchen.  
Uncle Frank turned to Clint, “Your dad is Chief Penbrim?” Clint nodded. “I’ll talk to him. I made him aware of Traivon’s situation when he was assigned here.” He turned to me, “We’ll find him, Traivon. Just try and hold on. Remember what we talked about last time. You just need to live.”  
And he was gone. My dad came back a minute later, “Your grandmother was very understanding about the situation. I know you drove yourself, but it’ll be safer if I take you to get stuff. Why don’t you go ahead and grab your jacket? I’ll run you home to get some spare clothes and your school stuff. Jake, Vega, you, too. Skye, can you stay with Trai?”  
“Absolutely. I trust Jake and Vega in my closet.”  
A few minutes later, they were gone. Skye took my hand and sat with me on the couch, while I brought my knees up to my chest. I found myself laughing, even as more tears spilled from my eyes, “So much for that big love story you pictured when we found the rose.”  
She grimaced, “Yeah, I’m so sorry about that. And I’m sorry I upset you to the point you ran outside to begin with. Jake yelled at me, and he kept saying I didn’t know what I was talking about.” She gave me a sideways glance.  
I sighed. “Because Clint wouldn’t have been my first kiss. Back when all this ended the first time, we were hanging out one night. Just Jake and me.”  
“Oh,” She covered her mouth, “Did you...?”  
I nodded. “We kissed. I think we were sixteen. It was like a test I guess, to see if we actually liked each other, or if the amount of time we spent together was just making us think we did.” Skye’s face was intent, she wanted to hear every word. I fiddled with my glasses while I talked. “It was like a minute or two, not really anything. We both agreed that there wasn’t, like, a spark. We love each other, but not like that. So, we just never talked about it. He started dating Melanie a few weeks later, and I was happy for him, honestly. I wish she hadn’t turned out to be so horrible.”  
She paused, staring at me. “There’s something you aren’t telling me. You always play with your glasses if you don’t want to talk about something or if you’re lying.” She was quiet a moment. “You said ‘we both decided’. But that wasn’t true, was it? Did you feel sparks?”  
I glanced through the doorway at my mom who was busy in the kitchen, digging through the freezer for cookie dough and ice cream. “So many sparks.” I finally whispered back.  
Skye took a deep breath. “Frito...you know he’s crazy about you, right?”  
I shook my head. “Don’t be stupid. He doesn’t think of me like that.” Skye opened her mouth, but I held up my hand. “Please. It’s bad enough to be in love with my best friend, especially when his sister is my other best friend. Don’t start acting like the way he is with me is because of some special reason.”  
Skye’s brow creased. “You were hoping the first rose was from Jake, weren’t you? Before we realized...” I looked at her, and something in my eyes must have given her the answer she wanted, because she nodded.  
“Girls?” My mom called from the kitchen, “Do you want to help me bake these?”  
I smiled to myself, “Yeah, mom. We’d love to.” Skye followed me in as my mom pulled baking sheets out of the cabinet.  
“I have chocolate chip, sugar cookie, snicker doodle, and double chocolate. What kinds do we want?” My mom looked at us and smiled. “All of them. Skye, how about you cut apart the snicker doodle, Frito, you take the chocolate chip, and I’ll cut the other two.” Skye skipped over and turned on the kitchen radio, setting it the local grunge station. My mom shook her head, but she was still smiling. We spent the next hour dancing around the kitchen singing along while we baked dozens and dozens of cookies. We heard the door open, and before we could look, Jake came dancing into the room belting out the next line of the song. He grabbed my hand and spun me around, and I laughed until I ran into Clint.  
“Oh! Sorry. I guess I wasn’t looking.”  
He smiled, “It’s okay. Looks like you’ve had some fun without us.”  
Jake danced over and offered me his hand. “Wanna dance?”  
I felt the corner of my lips turn up slightly, “I would love to.” He guided me in some kind of stepping swing dance and soon we were both giggling as we moved. My mom and dad were slow dancing, regardless of the music playing. The oven dinged and I ran over, “That’s the last of the cookies!”  
My dad turned the radio off, “How many did you make?”  
My mom looked around on the cooling trays, “Well, each roll made about thirty-six...so roughly a hundred and twenty if you ignore the ones we ate without cooking.”  
My dad just chuckled, wrapping my mom and I in a hug, “As long as it put my girls in good spirits. Why don’t I make my specialty for lunches tomorrow while you kids take some cookies upstairs and watch a movie?” My mom piled a bunch on a couple plates and pushed me towards the stairs. The five of us obeyed and marched up to my room.  
“What do you guys wanna watch?” I asked as I plopped down on my bed.  
Skye looked between me and Jake for a second, and I knew what was coming. “Jake, can you come with me really quick?”  
“Uh, okay,” he got up from his usual spot beside me. “I vote for action. I know you love Liam Neeson, so how about that movie where he’s an Air Marshal? I love that one.” He grinned as Skye grabbed his hand and pulled him into the hall.  
Vega raised an eyebrow at me, subtly gesturing to her phone before passing Clint the remote. “Can you find the movie?”  
I felt my phone vibrate as Clint started flipping through to find the right one.  
‘You finally told her how you feel about Jake, didn’t you?’  
I knew my eyes were wide as Vega locked her gaze on me. My phone vibrated again.  
‘Yes, it was obvious. Every time Melanie came around you would lock up, and every time I ask you about liking someone and he’s around, you always glance at him before you answer.’  
I couldn’t answer so I just nodded, and she nodded back as Clint called to us, “This one?”  
“Uh, yeah. That looks like the one.” Vega answered. “Thanks.”  
After another minute, Jake and Skye came back in, but before I could even register the door opening, Jake grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. “What’s going-“ I couldn’t finish the question. Jake kissed me. It felt like it went on forever, and when he finally pulled away, my lips tingled, and I couldn’t talk.  
Skye looked at Clint and Vega, “Should we give these two a minute?”  
Clint cleared his throat. “That might be a good idea.” Clint smiled to himself as he followed them out the door, I could hear him whisper to Vega, “So, they were the only ones who didn’t see it?” Vega giggled.  
The door clicked shut and my legs gave out. I dropped onto the edge of my bed. Jake stood in front of me for a second before sitting down. “Skye just told me off in the hall.” He said quietly. “How could you ever think that I wouldn’t have feelings for you?”  
My head snapped in his direction, and something in my chest hurt at the sad tone in his voice. “You told me so. When I kissed you. You told me you didn’t feel anything.”  
“I lied.” Jake shook his head. “I didn’t want to admit it because you had so much going on at the time, and when you agreed with me, I figured it wouldn’t matter. So, I tried to move on. I chose the worst possible option for myself so that if it ever came to pass, I wouldn’t worry about hurting someone to be with you.”  
“I can’t believe you would lie to me about that. I’ve loved you for so long, and when you told me that you didn’t feel anything, it damn near broke my heart. I agreed because in that split second, I had to respond I knew that you as a friend was better than you out of my life. You’ve always brought out the best in me. The best in everyone, really. I knew I was lucky just to be around you. So, I took what I could get.”  
He took a deep breath and took my hands in his. “Trai, I’ve been in love with you since the seventh grade. You’re gorgeous. You’re brilliant. You’re creative. You’re brutal. You’re resilient. You’re empathetic. You put me to shame. Everything you’ve been through and you still assume the best of everyone you come in contact with. And I never thought I’d tell you how I felt. Hell, I wanted so badly to encourage you to try to date Clint, he seems like a good guy. But it felt like it was gonna kill me.”  
“I know what you mean.” I responded softly. “Seeing you date Melanie wasn’t exactly easy for me. You seemed happy, that was enough for me.”  
Jake chuckled to himself. “I was miserable dating her. I seemed happy to you, because when I was around you, I was happy. Nothing and no one could ever make me feel the way you do.” I looked down at our hands, he was still holding mine. I gently entwined my fingers with his.  
“So, what now?”  
He smiled softly, “Well, for starters, I would really like to kiss you again.” In spite of myself, I smiled. He leaned in slowly, gauging my reaction, before he finally pressed his lips to mine and we both closed our eyes. Then I heard a giggle. My eyes flew open and something flashed.  
Skye.  
Jake wheeled around, “Did you just take a picture of us?”  
Vega laughed. “Are you surprised? She’s been shipping you since junior high.”  
Clint grinned next to Vega, “Skye send me that pic. This is a historic moment.”  
“You got it, newbie.”  
“Sweet, I’m posting it.” Clint started clicking away on his phone. “Trai, your dad already liked it.”  
“I did not realize you were friends.” I responded back, but my eyes were still on Jake.  
“He had me add him when he took us to pick up clothes.”  
Jake cleared his throat, “Should we, uh, get ready to watch this movie?”  
Vega nodded and smiled mischievously, “Yeah, you and Frito can cuddle up on the bed. The three of us can take the couch.”  
Sunday came and went, and Monday rolled around. My alarm went off for us to get up for school. Jake and Clint took turns in the shower, while the rest of us showered the night before. Skye and Vega were helping each other get their make up on and I was sitting at my desk, putting on eye liner as the doorbell rang. “That must be Officer Dinsen.” I muttered. “I’ll get it.” I jogged down the stairs and pulled the door open. “Hi, Officer Dinsen?”  
The uniformed man had his back to me, and he motioned with his hand. “Can I speak with you out here for a second?” His voice was deep and gruff.  
“Oh, uh, yeah.” I slipped on my vans that were by the door and followed him outside. “Is something wrong?”  
He reached around me and pulled the door shut. Then I saw his face. His voice was normal this time. “Traivon. We’re alone at last.”  
“Martin? Where’d you get that uniform?” My blood ran cold. His hand gripped my upper arm.  
“Simple matter. I just had to deal with the officer. Don’t worry, he’s alive. He’s just...incapacitated, shall we say. I had to work faster than I planned to after you decided to betray me with Jacob. Now, I need you to come with me.”  
“W-where?” I couldn’t look away from his eyes, they held a darkness, but they crinkled when he smiled at me.  
“Well, home, of course.” I felt something soft touch my face and my vision faded.  
The doorbell rang again. Skye looked at Vega, “Do you think Frito locked herself out?” Jake came in the room a couple minutes later, still shaking the water out of his hair.  
“Hey, Officer Dinsen is here.”  
“Yeah, Frito went down to meet him already.” Skye said absentmindedly as she laced up her converse. She turned to see Jake’s furrowed brow. “What?”  
“Are you sure? Because I didn’t see her, and he just got here.”  
“The doorbell rang while you were in the shower and Clint was getting dressed. She said she was gonna go down to greet him.”  
“And you let her go alone?” Jake didn’t realize his voice would come out so loud, “Sorry. I’ll go see if she’s outside.”  
Jake turned and walked down the stairs; Clint rounded the corner into Traivon’s room. “What’s going on?”  
“Officer’s here. Trai went to greet him like ten minutes ago, but Jake said he didn’t see her outside...you don’t think?” All three of them shared a look and followed Jake downstairs.  
Officer Dinsen stood just outside the door. “Hello, this young man says that Traivon said she was coming to greet me?”  
Skye nodded. “About ten minutes ago. The doorbell rang, we assumed it was you. She said she was coming to greet you at the door.”  
The officer shook his head. “Are you sure she isn’t in the house anywhere? I just pulled up. My cruiser wouldn’t start this morning and I had trouble finding my uniform. I had to swing by the cleaners and pick up another one on my way into the station.”  
Vega started shaking, “FRITO!” She turned back into the house, running from room to room. “FRITO, ARE YOU IN HERE!? TRAIVON!” Skye bolted in after her, tossing open every door she came to, while Clint ran to the backyard.  
The officer turned to Jake. “Are her parents’ home?”  
“No, sir. They already left for work.”  
“Give them a call. I need to call this into Detective Norm.”  
Jake was already dialing on his phone, “Dad! You need to get home as soon as possible...no, the officer just got here, but Traivon apparently answered the door ten minutes ago and now we can’t find her...no, I’ll call mom, you just get here as soon as possible.” After a similar phone call to Lydia, the officer asked to speak with Skye.  
“You were the one she told she was answering the door?”  
“Yes.” Skye was crying. “We thought it was you, she said she was gonna come let you in. You need to find her!”  
The officer held up his hands. “And we will. I need to know anything you can tell us about the man you think took her, or anywhere she would go.”  
“Anywhere she would go? She wouldn’t just leave without telling us! If she’s anywhere it’s because that maniac took her!” A car peeled to a stop outside the house, Detective Norm jumped out of the driver’s seat. “Detective Norm! Please tell me you believe us! He thinks Traivon just ran off!”  
“Skye, I know this is hard, but you need to stay calm. Traivon needs you calm. Can you take some deep breaths for me?” Skye nodded, breathing in deeply.  
Officer Dinsen turned to Detective Norm, “I never meant to make it sound like she just ran off, sir-“  
The detective held up his hand and the officer stopped talking. “Listen to me, here and now, Officer. This girl is my niece. I know what they teach you to say in situations like this, but I promise you this girl did not run away. I need you to watch what you say to her family.”  
The officer nodded. “I’m sorry, sir-“  
Jake jogged over to the detective. “This was knocked under the porch swing.” He held out Traivon’s phone. “I had this case made for her, it’s definitely Trai’s.”  
“Oh, hell.” Frank rubbed a hand down his face.  
The officer turned to him uncertainly, “Now that you’re here, I’d like permission to canvas the area, see if Martin left anything else behind.”  
“Go.” The officer walked away, and Detective Norm turned back to Skye, “Come here, sweetheart.” She ran into him and he pulled her in a tight hug. After a second, he let her go and turned to Vega, “Hey there, Vegas. You need a hug from Uncle Frank, too?” Biting back tears, Vega nodded her head and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. As he let her go, Jason’s car skidded to a halt in front of the curb.  
“Frank, what the hell happened?” He was shaking, split between rage and devastation.  
“Jason, I believe Martin may have stolen a uniform to lull Trai into a false security. Officer Dinsen’s cruiser had issues this morning, so he was running late, and he said that the uniform he had set aside this morning wasn’t there when he woke up.”  
“Goddammit Frank. How could we let him get to her? I should’ve been here.”  
“Now, Jason, you and I both know that Traivon wouldn’t have wanted to rearrange your whole life for her. Do you remember when she was in the hospital?”  
“Frank-“  
“Do you remember what she said? She told you that no matter what happened, none of you-“ Detective Norm looked between each of their faces, “No matter what happened, none of you were allowed to blame yourselves. Now Jason, my sister is gonna be depending on you to keep a straight head. And that’s exactly what you need to do. For Lydia, and for Traivon. You hear me?”  
Jason nodded. “Yeah, Frank. You’re right. But tell me what I can do.”  
“You can go in and make sure everything is ready for when we bring her home.” Frank leaned into Jason, “And no matter what happens, I will make sure this boy doesn’t have the chance to harm our girl ever again.” Jason walked into the house, leaving the door open. Clint and Jake approached Frank, “Boys. Did anything seem out of the ordinary today?”  
Jake shook his head, “Other than her phone nothing seemed off, but I haven’t had the chance to really look around yet.”  
Clint looked uncertain, “I looked around the backyard, but I haven’t been here enough to notice if something was off. I should call my dad.”  
Detective Norm nodded. “Yes, you do that, son.” The detective thought for a moment. “Did anything happen since I was here Saturday that might’ve made Martin act so brashly, so quickly?” Jake and Clint looked at each other and Jake bit his lip. “What is it, Jake? Anything.”  
“Saturday...I kissed her. And Skye may have taken a picture that got posted. But our profiles are still set to private.”  
Clint’s face fell, “But mine is set to public. This is all my fault.”  
Detective Norm put a hand on Clint’s shoulder, “No, son. Martin is unstable, and he’s fixated on Traivon. He would’ve done this anyway. Did she ever tell you the reason he chose her?”  
Jake shook his head, “She always told me that there was no reason.”  
The detective sighed. Vega and Skye stepped closer. “I’m telling you this because you’re good kids, and you deserve the truth. But you all need to swear not to mention it to my sister or my brother in law.” They all nodded. “The answer came out during the trial, but because it was a closed trial, not even her parents were allowed in the courtroom, I was the one that sat in with her. It’s because she looks like the spitting image of his fiancé.”  
“It’s got to be more than that, doesn’t it?” Vega asked tentatively. “I mean a lot of people look like other people.”  
The officer came back to the detective and he paused. The officer pulled the detective to the side. “I asked a few neighbors and two of them said that a crown vic pulled up earlier and a uniformed officer stepped out, they didn’t see his face, but they saw Traivon answer the door, and he was helping her into the car a few minutes later.” The detective nodded, grimly, and the officer went back to searching.  
The detective turned back to Vega and the others, “You’re right. It isn’t just that she looks like her.” He shot a glance at the house. “When my sister was fresh out of high school, and Jason was sent abroad for the military, she found out she was pregnant.”  
Jake interjected, “But Trai isn’t old enough for her to have- Oh.” He looked wide eyed at Uncle Frank.  
“They agreed it was too early and put the baby up for adoption. That baby grew up a town over, and she was engaged to Martin. When she passed away, the coroner couldn’t prove foul play, so we couldn’t do anything. Then Vega’s parents put up posters for the shows, and because Trai was the face of the band she was front and center on them. When we raided his apartment after the incident in her room...there was like a shrine. It was mostly his fiancé, but there were show posters, pictures he took from the shows, and pictures he took of her around town. Some of the pictures were dated a year or two before he even introduced himself.”  
Skye started crying again, and Vega and Jake wrapped their arms around her shoulders. Clint looked lost in thought. He turned to the detective, “What was her name? Traivon’s...sister.”  
“Penelope Yang.”  
“Thank you, sir. I need to place that call to my father now.” Clint stepped away, pulling out his phone, just as Lydia pulled up.  
“Frank! Frank!”  
“Lydia, please, we’re doing what we can. I need you to go inside with Jason. Get the house ready for her, see if there’s anything amiss, and we’ll bring her home.” Lydia looked at him, tears pouring down her face, but she nodded, and the detective led her into the house.  
Clint watched until they were gone and turned to Jake. “Listen, I have an idea.”  
Over the next few minutes, Clint held their rapt attention as he told them what he thought. “You really think he’s gonna take her somewhere he took Penelope?” Jake asked.  
“Think about it. He’s focused on Traivon because she reminds him of her.”  
Jake looked back at the house, then to Clint, “Well, how do we figure that out? We don’t know anything about her.”  
Clint held up his phone. “My dad texted me a list of places that Penelope’s family and friends mentioned when her death was investigated. He agreed not to mention it to Frank unless directly asked about Penelope. I’m going.”  
Skye snapped her head up, “But they’ll come looking for us.”  
Vega thought it over. “What if we told them we were going to Circuit Boards?”  
Jake nodded, “They probably wouldn’t question it. That place is basically our haven.”  
Skye shook herself like she was trying to psych herself up. “Okay. Let’s go.” She marched up to the front door and the rest followed her. “Mom, dad, Uncle Frank, we wanted to go to Circuit Boards. It might be a good place to start looking for clues. We’re gonna take Clint’s car.”  
Frank looked at everyone carefully, and then turned to Jason and Lydia, “I think it’s a good idea.” Lydia brushed away tears and nodded. Jake, Vega and Skye gave each of them a hug, and Clint hesitantly followed suit.  
As soon as they were in the car, Clint pulled up the list of places the chief sent him. “Looks like there’s a couple parks on this list, a historic building, and an art studio. Where should we go first?”  
“Let’s think about what they might have in common.” Jake said.  
“The art studio?” Vega offered, “I mean, he first saw Trai performing music, his fiancé was some kind of an artist.”  
“Let’s go.” Clint answered, putting the car in gear.

I woke up on a cot in a dingy basement. Martin was sitting in a chair nearby, fiddling with something in his hands. I tried to talk but my mouth was dry and cracking. “Oh, good. You’re awake.” Martin smirked. “I have something for you. Be a good girl and give me your hand.” I didn’t know what was happening, but I knew to listen. I held out my right hand. “No! Your other hand!” He snapped. I shirked back, but quickly held out my left hand. He grabbed it, shoving something cold on my finger. “There.” He released my hand and I pulled it back to see a diamond ring.  
“W-what’s this?” My voice sounded like my throat was full of sawdust.  
“Oh, Traivon, sweetie, it’s your ring. I know you won’t leave me like Penelope did.”  
“Penelope?” I asked as I looked around the cement room. Some of the walls were crumbling with exposed brick behind the cement. I could smell sewage mixing with some kind of acrylic and floor polish. Sunlight came through two small windows at the top of the wall and I could hear traffic. There was a small wooden door on the wall opposite my cot, and there was a cabinet in one corner of the room, and he was sitting at a desk in the other.  
“She didn’t appreciate my love. She called it an obsession. But I know you understand me, don’t you?”  
“Of c-course. You care about me. Y-you love me.” My brain was still fuzzy by whatever put me to sleep.  
He nodded eagerly, “Yes! I knew you’d understand.”  
I tried to swallow, “Martin, can I have a drink? Please? My throat hurts.”  
“Oh, of course, my princess.” He ran to the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of water, “Let me help you.”  
“I can do it.”  
His voice took on an edge, “It’s not polite to refuse help when it’s offered.”  
I nodded, “You’re right. I’m sorry. Please, I would appreciate the help.”  
He smiled and brushed my hair out of my face. “That’s my girl.” He opened the water and pulled a straw out of his pocket, “Small sips, love.” The water burned as it went down my throat, but it wasn’t warm. It was more...acidic. I started coughing. “Oh, baby, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” He patted my back. The touch was surprisingly gentle.  
“Thank you.”  
“Anything for you, my love. In a little bit, we have some work to do, so get some rest.”  
“Work?” I inquired.  
“Yes, my sweet. For the wedding.” My stomach turned.  
“W-wedding?”  
He smiled, but his eyes held the same dark look they always did, “Of course. We can’t have a wedding without planning for it. That reminds me, I have something for you.” He rushed to the cabinet and came back holding a bundle of white fabric. “I need you to put this on. We need to make sure it fits.”  
“O-of course. Anything for you, my love.” I cringed as the words left my lips.  
He cupped my cheek with his hand. “That’s my girl. I know you’re a woman of modesty, so I’ll step out while you change.” And with that he disappeared through the door. I knew better than to try to run. Uncle Frank had prepared me in case this ever came to pass before. I stood up, pulling my clothes off in the chilly room. I pulled the dress on. A wedding dress.  
“Okay,” I called out. “I’m dressed.”  
He cracked the door open and peered through. “Oh, you look even more gorgeous than I thought you would.”  
“I-it’s a lovely dress, Martin. Where’d you get it?”  
“I chose it for Penelope. She didn’t appreciate it like you do. Didn’t appreciate me.” His face looked hard for a moment, and then he smiled at me. “No matter. It looks much more fetching on you.”  
“Th-thank you, sweet-sweetheart. I love it.” I slowly reached out and took his hand, thinking about my Uncle Frank telling me to survive, “And I love you.”  
His eyes lit up, the dark energy brightening, “You mean it?”  
“Of course.” I forced a smile, “You’ve shown how much you care about me. How far you’re willing to go for me. I’m sorry it took me so long to notice.”  
He pressed my hand to his chest, “I knew you’d come around. You always understood me.” He pulled away abruptly, “You must be hungry. I’ll go get you something to eat.”  
“B-but I don’t want to be alone.” I reached out for him, “Can I go with you?”  
He patted my head. “Maybe next time. For now, I need to make sure you stay put for the wedding. You can change out of the dress for now.” And he was gone. I heard locks clicking into place on the other side of the door. I counted. Three...four...five...six locks. I needed to bide my time.

The sun shined in the small downtown square as Clint slammed his door shut. The others climbed in, and it was quiet for a minute. Then Skye’s shaky voice came from the backseat. “Is there anywhere else?”  
Clint sighed, “No. That was the last place on the list.”  
“Maybe we need to think about this another way.” Jake said, he closed his eyes, “Frito reminds him of Penelope. And now we know why. But the thing is, he sees her as her own person. He doesn’t see her as Penelope.”  
Vega nodded beside Skye. “That’s true. He always calls her Traivon. But it wouldn’t be Circuit Boards, he has to know that my parents own it, so he wouldn’t risk getting seen with her there.”  
Clint took a deep breath. “Okay. We need to think about where he’d go to make Traivon happy. But not necessarily somewhere she’s frequented recently. I mean, he was gone for two years, and it’s not necessarily like he had someone to keep tabs on her.”  
Jake agreed, “Exactly. It’s gonna be somewhere she went a lot between the start of freshman and the end of sophomore year. But at least one of us was always with her because of this guy.”  
Skye bit her lip. “Not...always.”  
Jake turned to look at her, “What are you talking about?”  
“Remember how every Thursday she and I had a music lesson at that place in Creston?” Jake and Vega nodded. “Well...we didn’t. I was her cover of sorts...”  
Jake’s face was hard. “You lied to us? While that stuff was going on?”  
Skye’s eyes were already prickling with tears. “I didn’t want to, but she thought it would be a good idea. She didn’t want you to get overprotective. She would go to Creston with me, and then I’d go to the local Internet cafe while she did her thing.”  
“Why would I get overprotective? I’ve never stopped you from doing anything.” Jake replied as Clint turned onto the freeway toward Creston.  
“Not protective of me. Of her. If you knew what she had been doing, you would’ve made her stop.” Skye watched her hands. She knew Jake was giving her a harsh look, and she couldn’t meet his eyes. “Go to the Hellcats Arena.”  
“Hellcats Arena? Why does that sound so familiar?” Vega asked, watching the trees fly by her window.  
Clint glanced in the rear view, “Isn’t that the roller derby team in Creston?” Skye bit her lip. “Skye, Jake isn’t mad at you. He’s just upset because he cares about Trai. So, please, tell us what she was doing.”  
Skye sighed, “I’m only breaking her confidence because she’s in danger. I want to make that clear.” Jake stared at her for a moment before nodding. “She was on the Hellcats team. She knew you wouldn’t approve, you always said that it was too dangerous and unladylike, and it was a stupid sport. But she loved it. And she was good. I’d gone to her matches before she quit, and she always avoided injury, and led the team to so many wins.” She glanced up at Jake. “But she loved you, too. She was too afraid of disappointing you to tell you. I kept telling her that it wouldn’t change the way you saw her, but all she wanted was things to stay the same between you.”  
Jake’s face softened. “I never meant to make her feel like she couldn’t tell me. I would’ve loved her anyway.”  
Vega turned to Skye, “Tell us about it. We have at least a half hour before Creston, tell us about her in the rink.”  
Skye’s face took on a distant look, a small smile playing on her lips, “You guys know she’s never done anything she didn’t end up being amazing at. She was incredible. She was so graceful, but so brutal. She was one of the pivot players. Which meant that she was a blocker, but during the matches the jammer could pass her the star and she would take over. She was the fastest one on the team, and she usually took over towards the end of the match. She was unstoppable. I never went to a single match where the Hellcats lost while she was jamming. It was incredible.”  
“Isn’t that sport, like, notoriously violent?” Clint asked.  
“Only if you play in a league that doesn’t follow the official standard rules.” Skye bit her lip. “The Hellcats didn’t join the official league until after Trai quit. I actually think she was the reason they joined the league.”  
Clint raised an eyebrow in the rear-view mirror, and Jake looked at Skye. “I thought you said she never got hurt.”  
“And she didn’t! But...I think the sport was her way of working out her aggression about the whole Martin thing. She, uh, she managed to break a couple girls’ arms. She blocked hard, and when she was jamming, she was too nimble for the other teams’ blockers. A couple girls screwed up their knees just trying to keep up.” Skye let out a breath.  
“I didn’t know Frito could be so hardcore.” Jake said softly, looking out the window. “I would’ve loved to see her.”  
The car was silent as Clint took the exit into the city. Vega drummed her fingers on her leg before turning to Skye, “Why did she feel like she couldn’t tell me?”  
Skye looked at her sadly, “It wasn’t that she felt like she couldn’t tell you. She was just worried about Jake finding out. She figured the less people that knew, the better. Her parents didn’t even know. Only one other person ever knew.”  
“Don’t you need parental permission for that kind of thing when you’re in high school?”  
Skye bit her lip, “She slipped the paper into school stuff and they didn’t even notice. Honestly, she planned to tell you both at the end of it. She wanted you to come to the championship match more than anything. She was so proud.”  
“Then why didn’t we ever hear about it?” Vega asked quietly.  
Skye looked at her hands, and a tear slipped down her cheek. Her voice shook. “The championship match was the weekend after she went to her room and Martin...” she trailed off. And Vega nodded slowly, reaching out to touch Skye’s shoulder.  
Clint pulled into a spot in the parking garage next to the arena. “I have one last question about this. Don’t those girls usually have nicknames? What was Traivon’s?”  
Skye smiled softly. “I’ll let them tell you.” The group slowly made their way to the front doors, just as a blonde girl in her mid-twenties was leaving.  
“Skye!” She pulled Skye into a swift hug. “Is our girl with you? We miss her so much.”  
“Sorry, Cassidy. We were actually looking for her. Do you remember how she would always scan the crowds for that guy?” Cassidy nodded and Skye gave her a quick run down of what was happening.  
“Oh, no.” She covered her mouth. “I’ve only been here for about an hour today but here, take my keys. Look anywhere you need to; they’ll give you full access to the building. You could ask all the other girls, too.” She looked behind Skye, “This must be Vega and Jake! Tyranny told me so much about you guys before she left.” She gave them a hug before they could stop her.  
Jake pulled back after a second and cleared his throat, “She told you about us?”  
“Only every week. What was it she used to say...Vega is the smartest rock goddess anyone could ever meet, and Jake is the most selfless, caring soul the world will ever be graced with. We used to pick on her that the two of you would end up together one day.”  
Skye cracked a smile, “They may have gotten started on that the other night.”  
Cassidy squealed before her eyes flitted to Clint, “And who is this?”  
Clint held out his hand, “Clint.”  
She pushed his hand away and pulled him into a hug. “You are adorable. I don’t do handshakes.”  
Vega looked at Cassidy. “Did you say Tyranny?”  
Skye giggled and Cassidy smiled at her before turning to Vega. “Yeah,” She paused, “Skye, she never told them, did she?”  
Skye shook her head, “You and the girls know she went through a lot.”  
Cassidy nodded solemnly, “Follow me.” Cassidy turned back inside, and Skye eagerly followed, the rest trailing behind. They came into a large open area. Metal stands sat on either side of the ring.  
“Why is it angled?” Clint asked.  
Cassidy shrugged. “I know there’s reasoning behind it but to me it’s just the way of the sport.” She came to a stop under a large banner with a photo.  
“Whoa.” Jake breathed, smiling to himself, before he read it out. “‘MVP Trai the Tyranny’. She looks incredible.” The photo was Trai in her skates and pads, mid-match with a smile on her face as she jumped over a blocker.  
“She was the greatest jammer we ever had. Led us to our first and only shut out season. Only lost the championship because we forfeited that year, it didn’t feel right to play without her.” Cassidy smiled wistfully. “I’d always hoped she’d come back. I’ve been on this team for six years, but nobody has ever had the passion Trai had, or the innate skill. I was at her try out, and she beat three of our veteran skaters. It was amazing.” She shook her head. “But enough of memory lane. You guys are on a mission and I’ve deterred you long enough. Skye, some of the girls are in the locker room if you want to try asking them.”  
Cassidy pulled everyone into another hug, “Thanks, Cass. I’ll be sure to let you know when we find her.”  
“Please do.” Cassidy grinned and waved before heading out the door. Her voice was clear as the door shut, “Bring our girl back to us!”  
Skye led the others to the door marked locker room, and lifted her hand to knock on it, taking a deep breath. Knock. Knock. Knock.  
A brunette girl, about five eight, opened the door, “Skye! What a pleasant surprise. Come on in, your friends too. All the girls are decent.”  
“Hey, Amelia! We just need to ask you and the girls some questions, we’re looking for Trai.” Skye explained as they followed her into the locker room.  
Amelia looked at her with an eyebrow raised. “Ominous. What’s going on?”  
Jake stepped forward, “If I may-“  
“You’re Jake, right?” Amelia asked. He nodded. “You look exactly like we pictured you would. Doesn’t he, girls?” The girls all let out calls of affirmation and wolf whistles. “Please tell me she finally told you how she feels.”  
Jake’s face flushed and he stumbled over his words, “W-well, we n-need to ask you about T-Trai.” He cleared his throat. “She was abducted today.”  
A small red headed girl turned to look at him, her face creased in anger. “Is that Martin bastard back?”  
Skye nodded. “I know the girls here that knew Trai followed the trial pretty closely.”  
Amelia’s face fell. “When she left, it was like losing a sister. Let me think...there was a guy a day or two ago that came by. He was probably close to six-foot, green eyes, brown hair. He kept staring at her banner. What was that thing he said...”

I woke up some time later. The glow of the sun had all but disappeared from the view of the window. My head felt somehow heavier than it had earlier, and I thought back to the taste of the water he offered me. ‘I need to bide my time. Uncle Frank will find me. Just... hopefully he finds me alive...’ My thoughts were interrupted by the door banging closed.  
“Hello, my love.” Martin smiled as he put a bag on the desk. He began pulling glasses and containers out, setting them up on either end of the desk like you would a dining table. “I brought us dinner. You need to eat.”  
“Th-That was thoughtful of you, d-dear.” I dug my thumbnail into my palm to stop my nervous stutter. “What did you get us, love?”  
He smiled softly, “I picked up your favorite. Vegetarian lasagna from that little family shop in the town square.”  
I forced a smile to my face, “That sounds delightful, sweetheart. Just like our first meal together.”  
His face lit up. “You remembered.”  
“Of course. That was the day we met.”  
His face hardened. “No, it wasn’t. We met before that.”  
My mind was blank. The day we met was when he came up to us after the show. Wasn’t it? “What do you mean it wasn’t? We met at my show. Then we went to dinner.”  
“No!” His voice had a bitter edge to it that it didn’t before. “You don’t remember. I can’t believe I thought you cared. You were pretending. Now everyone that kept us apart will pay. It’s their fault you forgot.” He started throwing pieces of silverware and containers across the room. I squeezed my eyes shut. Something hit the side of my head and I fell into the cabinet. I realized I failed. I couldn’t keep myself alive.

Jake kicked a rock across the parking lot as they walked toward the doors to Circuit Boards. “We’ve been looking all day, and we’re no closer to finding her than we were when we left the house this morning. The only thing we have to go on is this stupid riddle one the girls thought came from him.” He pushed the door open and they came to a stop when they saw Detective Norm leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. “Uncle Frank, we can explain-“  
The detective held up his hand. “Don’t bother. I knew you kids were gonna go off on your own, I just didn’t want Jason and Lydia worrying about you, so I didn’t say anything. Just tell me if you figured anything out.” He gestured to a table as Vega’s parents watched from the bar, and the five of them sat down.  
Jake cleared his throat, “Well we went to visit a few places that led nowhere. We did speak with the team at Hellcats Arena.”  
Frank broke into a grin, “Ah, how is little Cassidy?”  
Skye laughed when Jake’s mouth fell open. He shook his head, “You knew she was doing that?”  
Frank nodded. “Of course. She didn’t do anything these last couple years without telling me. Whenever Skye couldn’t make it to a match, I would go and root my girl on. She was an absolute destroyer out there. Did the team have anything that might help?”  
Vega shrugged, “I think her name was Amelia, she said something about running into a guy that kept asking about Trai yesterday, and she didn’t think much of it because of the banner they have at the arena. But she remembered him saying something about the Phoenix rising again.”  
Frank’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you sure that’s what she said? Think extremely hard.”  
“Uh, yeah, we just don’t know what it means.”  
Jake turned to Frank, “Does it mean something to you?”  
Frank was shaking his head in disbelief when he looked at Jake, his face a little pale. “When you all were little, probably about eight I think, I took you kids to a show over in Hazel. It was like a circus but no clowns because-“  
“-because Trai is terrified of them. It’s the one thing she’s actually afraid of.” Jake said, and Frank nodded. “I remember that, there was acrobats and stuff.”  
Clint leaned forward, “I remember that show. My dad took me. Didn’t it have fire breathers?”  
Frank nodded again. “There were three, if my memory serves. Two older boys, and the younger was I think fifteen or so at the time. I can’t remember their names. They came out towards the end of the performance.” Frank’s brow furrowed as he thought back. He closed his eyes. “Trai was practically in a trance. I remember Jake hiding behind her because the younger boy kept getting closer to them. At the time, I figured he got closer because Jake was afraid but...”  
“But what?” Jake asked, his forehead creasing.  
“Now that I think back, he never really looked at you. He was really focused on Trai. He invited her on stage, but you were clinging to her and she refused to leave you. Their stage name was the Boys of the Phoenix, and when they finished, they disappeared into the fire. The stage master would announce ‘The Boys of the Phoenix will rise again’. The young boy came up to us after the show, and Trai was eager to talk to him. She asked him advice for performing and talked about how you guys wanted to make music. She had gotten her first guitar for her birthday that year. Vega tried to talk to him, but it was like he could only see Trai. It raised red flags to me, so I grabbed her hand and took you kids home.”  
Jake’s face was blank, “The flowers she got at the hospital. The note said ‘Our love will never end. It will rise again.’”  
“Do you think...?” Skye began hesitantly.  
Frank opened his eyes, “I think I need to go look around the old performing stage. You kids should head home.”  
“Not a chance.” Jake responded. “And you can’t keep us from going there cause it’s public property, so that’s where we’re going.”  
Frank sighed. “You’re right. I can’t stop you. But keep in mind, if any of you let yourselves get hurt,” he looked pointedly at Jake, “She’s going to blame herself. Would you be okay with that?” The table was silent as Frank got up. He placed a hand on Jake’s shoulder as he passed, “You were the last to realize she was in love with you. Just don’t do anything stupid because of it.” And he was gone.  
Jake stared at his hands, clenched on the tabletop. Skye anxiously plaited a section of her hair, and Vega drummed her fingers nervously on her thighs. Clint cleared his throat, “So, are we doing this?”  
Jake’s head shot up. “It could be dangerous if Uncle Frank is right. But it’s also gonna take him a while to pull permits for the building and get back up together. We could find out if she’s there a lot faster...”  
Vega’s parents came over to the table, her mother perched on the edge of the detective’s chair. She hesitantly looked at the kids, “You kids know we love you. And Vega, your father and I were talking, we know we can’t stop you from going after her. We just want you kids to promise that you’ll be careful.”  
Vega’s father looked at Jake, “Can I speak with you in the office for a minute?” Jake nodded and followed him down the hall into the back office that was cluttered with papers and new security camera screens. “Jake, I remember taking you to the shooting range when this was happening. Did you ever get certified?”  
“Uncle Frank was able get me an early certification when the age restrictions on gun ownership and drinking were lowered.” He looked at Vega’s father with hesitation. “Why?”  
Vega’s father turned around and spun the dial on the safe. “Dolores doesn’t know I have this. I want you to take it. No matter what happens, I want you to end this.” He placed a revolved in Jake’s hands. “Normally, I would be against giving you this, and even more against asking this of you, but-“  
“No, it’s okay.” Jake’s face was hard. “It needs to end. And obviously it won’t end until one of them dies. And we all know I’m not letting go of Trai.” He gripped the gun in his hand. “I’ll end this. You have my word.”  
Vega’s father nodded. “Just be careful. Watch out for my girl. Now let’s go.” They walked back out to the table where the rest were still sitting. “I want you all to be incredibly careful. Normal parents would probably try to ground you, keep you from going. But we know that would be pointless. The three of you and Trai have been protecting each other since before you could walk. There’s no way in hell you’d stay home just because we told you to. Just promise us one thing.” He put a hand on Dolores’s shoulder. “Just come back to us.”  
Vega wiped her eyes, “We will dad. And we’ll come back with Frito.” She pulled her parents into a tight hug. “I love you guys.”  
Her father’s voice was rough. “We love you, too, baby girl.” He looked at Jake. “Remember what I said.” They shook hands, and Jake tapped the gun where he stowed it in his waistband.  
The four of them went out to the car, hopping in to head to Hazel. Vega bit her lip. Cautiously she looked at the others. “Guys, he met her when she was eight. So, he didn’t go after her because she reminded him of Penelope. He went after Penelope because she reminded him of Trai.” Everyone wore a grim expression as Clint turned onto the main road.

I woke up with blurry vision. Martin was sitting at the desk, rocking back and forth on the chair. I tried to sit up, but my head spun. I realized Martin was muttering to himself. “It’s going to rise again it’s going to rise again it’s going to rise again...” He was saying it over and over again.  
I clutched my head, the blurriness increasing as I forced myself into a sitting position. His words bringing a long-forgotten memory to the surface. I closed my eyes and saw a teenage boy. He was spinning a fire stick in the air, breathing it in and shooting a wall of fire at a crowd. He looked at me, his green eyes gleaming. I knew those eyes. “R-Raiden?”  
He spun around and I saw the same wild look in his eyes that he had in my room. “You’re awake.” His hair was no longer brushed back, it was messy and in his face. His eyes were wide and blood shot, but his pupils were small. He rushed over to my side. “I was so worried. You’ve been asleep for hours.” His clothes were disheveled. “You shouldn’t scare me like that.”  
He had a tight grip on my hand. “I’m-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”  
“Wait. What did you call me?” His eyes shined as he looked into mine.  
“Raiden. That was your name, wasn’t it? When we first met?”  
He smiled and pulled me close to him. “I knew you’d remember.”  
I took in his appearance one more time. I was running out of time. I knew it. There was no point in diluting myself into thinking I’d get away from him this time. I just needed to say goodbye. “Raiden, can I please ask a favor?”  
He looked at me intently, “What do you need, my love?”  
I took a deep breath. “I want to write a letter to my parents before the wedding. Just to let them know how...happy I am now. Can you please bring me some paper and a pen?”  
He stroked my cheek and he watched me. “Yes, my dear. I’ll deliver it when you finish.”  
“Thank you, sweetheart.” He got up and moved to the desk, pulling papers out of the drawer, and handing them to me.  
‘Dear everyone,  
I want you to know how much I love you. I wanted to let you know that my dear Raiden, the man you know as Martin, and I are getting married.’  
I knew I needed to find some way of letting them find me. Some clue. Or at least letting them know that I wouldn’t last much longer.  
‘I also wanted you all to know how much your support has meant to me in these last few years. As I take this next step in my life, my mind focuses on the greatest love I’ve ever had. He’s supported me, guided me, cared for me, made me laugh, made me cry, and no matter what happened he was always there.’  
I smiled to myself as I pictured Jake’s grin. I wished I could tell him I love him one last time.  
‘I know you may be worried. But understand that I am doing this because it is what is best. For everyone. This needs to end one way or another, and this is the choice I’m making for all of us. I know you will understand this, you all know my heart. Tell daddy that no matter what, he was, is, and will always be the man I look up to. Mama, no one has a heart as big as yours. Clint, we don’t know you well. But you have a kind soul, and it will serve you well. Skye, remember us when you take Hollywood by storm. You’ll be a star like none the world has ever seen. Vegas, I know you hate that nickname. You always have because you think that we say it because that’s as far as we see you making it. But know that when I look at you, I see the most passionate drummer the world has seen since John Bonham. You’re going to make it so far in life. You just have to believe in your music. Take my song book. There’s no one I trust with it more. Jake...”  
I kept writing. I needed everyone to have one last memory of me. When I was done, I signed it Frito, as I always did. I folded the paper up, and Martin handed me an envelope. “You can seal it, my darling, I won’t read it.” So, I did. I wrote my dad’s name on the envelope, and Martin disappeared out the door. I heard the locks click into place.

Jake’s phone rang just as they made it to Haven. “Dad? What’s up...We just made it to Haven...we can be there right away.” He hung up and turned to the others, “We need to turn around. Dad just got a letter from Frito.” Nobody said anything, Clint pulled a U-turn and flew down the road back to Lakeside. The car was silent until he skidded to a stop outside of Trai’s house, Jake stowed the gun in the glove box, and they booked it through the front door.  
Lydia pulled Jake into a hug. “She’s saying goodbye.”  
“What?” Jake reeled back, “She can’t be saying goodbye.” There were tears in his eyes, and he looked over at Skye as she read the letter. “What does it say?”  
Skye’s hands were shaking. “Martin wants to marry her. She’s doing it to protect us. She wrote to each of us. Mom, dad, Clint, Vega, me, you...You should read this.” She passed the paper to Jake as he wiped the tears from his eyes. He read it out loud.  
“Jake, I wish I could’ve shared my feelings with you sooner. Know that no matter what, you in my life is my greatest treasure. Don’t be sad. To keep you safe, I would make this decision again and again. Just like I used to protect you from fire, I will protect with my last breath. The fire will rise again. You need to be ready.  
Giving you my heart and soul,  
Frito.”  
Jake let the paper slip to the floor. He punched wall, breaking through the dry wall, and leaving a hole. “Goddammit!” Everyone was quiet, Jason shaking in his seat. “I should’ve been there! She never should’ve answered that damn door!” He went storming outside. Clint followed after him, muttering about calming him down.  
Jason got up and paced around the room, briefly running his fingers over the hole in the wall. “I wish he could’ve shared his feelings sooner. We always knew the two of them would end up together. My sweet girl deserves her happiness.” He dropped back onto the couch next to Lydia, who took his shaky hand in hers.  
Vega was fighting back tears, “Can I see it?” Lydia nodded and Vega picked it up from the ground. She read over it for a moment. “Wait a second, listen to this. ‘Just like I used to protect you from fire, I will protect you with my last breath.’ We need to go back to Haven.” Vega was already moving when Skye caught her hand.  
“What are you talking about?”  
Vega whirled around, “Don’t you get it? She left us a clue. Mom, dad, we love you. So much. But I’ll be damned if she spelled out to Jake where she is, and I don’t go.” She turned to Skye. “She’s in Haven. We were so close. Now, we need to go. Either she thinks Martin or Raiden or whoever he is is going to kill her, or she’s going to allow him to marry her and take her away. We need to move.” Vega looked at Skye, who nodded. They both turned and ran out the door before Lydia could stop them. Clint was sitting on the curb holding his face. “Where’s Jake?”  
Clint looked up; he had a bloody nose. “I tried to get him to calm down. He asked for my keys, and I said no because he was freaking out. He punched me in the face and took them.”  
“Shit.” Skye ran back in the house.  
Vega pulled Clint up from the ground. “Because she told us where she was. We were right. We need to get to Haven.”

I looked down at the white dress that clung to my body. I took a deep breath. ‘For Jake. To keep him safe.’ I thought to myself. Raiden opened the door. “My beautiful bride. I went to the pharmacy and bought you some make up. We have an hour before we need to leave for the church.”  
I forced a smile, “Yes, my dear Raiden, I will be ready. And then we can leave this place behind. Start a life together.” I sat at the desk, and he set a small mirror in front of me with a bag of cosmetics. I could see blooding coming from my head where I was hit last night. “Soon no one will stop us.” ‘I’m out of time. Goodbye. I love you all. So much.’  
He had regained some of his composure as opposed to the night before, his hair slicked back and his shirt tucked in. “Exactly, my love. No one will come between us again. Not your father, not your uncle, not Jacob.” He spit out Jake’s name like it was poison on his tongue. “If they try to interfere again, I will show them what I’m capable of.”  
My hands started shaking, but I reached out and placed one on his shoulder. “It’s okay. I am choosing to come with you. This will all be over soon.”  
He smiled, crinkling the corners of his green eyes. “I’ll leave you to finish getting ready.” He stepped out the door. No locks. A tear rolled down my cheek. ‘Not long now. Jake, I hope you find love when I’m gone. My heart is forever yours.’ I let my mind wander as I put the make up on. I imagined my friends, years from now, succeeding with their lives. ‘This is what is driving me forward. They will get to move on with their lives. They will move past what happens to me. They have to.’ I put the last touch of eyeliner on as the door opened. Raiden came in. “We must hurry, my dear.” He held out his hand and I took it just as there was loud noise above my head.  
“What’s going on?”  
“Nothing, my sweet.” He answered, but his face was hardened. The darkness in his eyes bubbling up to the surface. “Let’s go.” He started out the door, dragging me along and I stumbled over the long skirt of the dress, falling to the ground. “Get up! We need to go!”  
I could hear a voice above my head as Raiden pulled me along and I struggled to maintain my footing. “Raiden, what’s happening? Why are we in such a hurry?” My ears perked up to the voice, straining to hear the words through the floor.  
Raiden looked at me, his expression angry. “They think they can stop us.” My body froze. ‘They found us?’  
He yanked my arm and we continued through the shadowy basement hallway over crumbling stone toward a staircase just as the door at the top opened. “Trai!” The voice called out. Light poured in through the doorway, but I knew that voice.  
“Jake?” Raiden wrapped his arm around my throat, pulling me backwards. “Jake, get out of here!” I called out as I struggled to breath.  
He came down the stairs, “I can’t do that, Frito. I’d rather die here than leave you.”  
Raiden squeezed tighter; his eyes locked on Jake. “I can arrange that.” He reached behind him.  
“Jake! Please! Don’t get hurt for me!” I coughed, forcing the words out through my lungs straining for air. The blood coming faster from my head. My vision started to blur for a moment, but I forced my eyes to focus.  
Raiden pulled a knife out, easing the pressure of his arm around my neck, I felt the point of the blade against my jugular. “Let us go, or I’ll end all of us here.”  
Jake’s eyes were sad, I could see he was torn. He shook his head. When he looked back at me, his face grew serious. “I’m here for Trai, and I’m not leaving here without her.”  
Raiden’s voice was coarse, “I won’t let you take her. Not again. She’s chosen you too many times.”  
“Raiden, leave him alone, I will come with you.” My eyes were streaming with tears, mixing with the blood that ran down my face. “No one needs to get hurt. Jake, I am asking you. As someone who has spent their entire life by your side, please. Go home. Tell my parents I love them.” It was then that I realized Jake held a sleek metal in his hand. I squinted; my glasses forgotten on the desk in the room. A gun. The tip of the knife still pointed into my neck, I looked around the room. My brain was getting hazier, and I heard more noises upstairs.  
“You’re running out of time, Raiden.” Jake pointed the gun. His eyes watering, “Frito, I don’t have a clear shot.” He started to lower his hand again.  
I took a deep breath, “Don’t lower it.” I looked Jake in the eye. “This needs to end. If you love me, then you’ll do it.”  
“Trai, I can’t do that. You’re too important to me.” Raiden scoffed at Jake’s words, yanking me another step backward. Jake raised the gun again. “Stop moving!” I felt Raiden smile, and he pulled me back again. My feet hit a chunk of cement and I tumbled into Raiden as I saw Jake squeeze the trigger, I closed my eyes.  
BANG.

Two years later, Jake stood in front of the headstone. Skye walked up behind him, her deep blue dress blowing in the breeze. “Hey. Want to talk about it?”  
Jake shook his head, “Naw. Just reminding myself. Sometimes I forget that it’s over. What he did to her…”  
The crisp air of the mild winter tickled his nose as Skye nodded. “Yeah. None of us will ever forget. But we have somewhere to be today, and you’re already running late. Clint is waiting in the car.”  
“Right. Good thing I already got dressed.” He glanced down at his suit. “Thanks for coming to get me. I don’t think I could get forgiveness if I forgot to show up.”  
Skye put her arm around him as they walked back to the car, “What are sisters for?”  
“The blue is a good color for you, by the way. I guess it takes a special day to get you out of black.”  
She smiled at him. “I simply honored what was asked of me today. It was a good reason to change it up.” They climbed in and Clint put the car in drive, whisking them off to Circuit Boards.  
Clint smiled at Jake. “You excited or nervous?”  
“Both?” Jake gave a hesitant smile. “Like, I know this is absolutely what I want to do, but worried about how it’s going to go.”  
Clint nodded. “I get you. But for what it’s worth, I think this definitely the right decision.” He parked, climbing out of the car, and taking Skye’s hand.  
Jake chuckled to himself, “I’m glad that mess led to you two getting together. I feel like everyone kinda realized they needed to bite the bullet that day. No pun intended. Do you know if Vega brought Rosa today?”  
Skye grinned, “Yeah, everyone is inside.” Clint pulled open the door and ushered the two of them inside. “I think we’re the last to arrive. Now, go take your place. Clint and I have to get in position.”  
Jake took a deep breath, stepping up onto the stage next to Joey. “Thank you for agreeing to this.”  
Joey smiled at him; his long black hair pulled back. “Absolutely, man. After everything you and your friends went through, I would be remiss to deny you this. Besides, getting the license for this was super easy.” They both laughed, and Jake turned to face everyone.  
My mom sat in the front row, an empty chair for dad to her left, and Uncle Frank on her right. My cousin had taken the day off at her new internship to be there with him. Behind them were Vega’s parents. Jake and Skye’s parents in the front row on the other side. The Hellcats team took all the empty seats behind them, with the lone exception of Rosa. Everyone wore smiles, some wiping tears from their eyes. The music started with Clint and Skye making their way to the stage. Then Vega. Jake let tears slip down his face as my dad walked out. I was beside him. I saw Jake’s smile grow wider as his eyes swept over my dress. It took months, sewing white into the black fabric. But it was worth it. It was emblazoned with the lyrics of every song Jake and I wrote together. I took my place beside him as my dad sat next to my mom. “Did you go today?” I asked softly.  
Jake’s gaze was gentle. “Yeah. I had to see it again. To be sure.”  
I took his hands in mine. “You go there every week. I don’t think the words are going to change.”  
“Maybe not.” He answered, “But seeing his name in that stone makes it easier to move on.”  
Joey cleared his throat, and we turned our attention to him. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today, to bear witness to the wedding of Jacob Theodore Gunderson and Traivon Eunice Johnson.” I squeezed Jake’s hand as a tear slipped down my cheek. He reached up to wipe it away, and then wiped away his own. Joey continued, “If anyone here has any reason why these two should not be wed, please do us all a favor and shove it up your ass because they’ve been through enough.” There was a wave of laughter followed by my dad shouting a ‘hell yeah’. “In marriage, as in any relationship, you should have love. And these two are the embodiment of true love if I have ever seen it.” Joey looked at us with such care in his eyes, “From here on, I would like to acknowledge that the rest of this speech was written with the assistance of our lovely bride because I am garbage at words.” Joey grinned, “Love is understanding, and supporting, and empathetic, and strong. It makes you feel at home, even when you’re locked in a basement.” I chuckled and Jake smiled softly, a wave of awkward laugh ripped through the room. “Love doesn’t make you strong. But it helps you tap into the strength the person that loves you already sees. It reminds you that no matter what you may face, you are never truly alone. It shows you that you can always have somewhere you belong. It brings you peace when you feel like the world is ending, and when done right gives you the courage to stand with your head held high as it ends. Love is the feeling we, as humans, chase after. It’s the feeling we’re most often told to sought out. And when we find it, we latch onto it with everything we have.” He turned to Jake, “Jake, do you take Traivon to be your lawfully wedded wife?”  
“I absolutely do.” Jake’s golden hazel eyes shined as another tear slipped out. I took the ring that a sobbing Skye offered me and slipped it onto his finger. The engraved words catching my eye for just a moment as we shared a smile. ‘We rose again.’  
“Trai, do you take Jacob to be your lawfully wedded husband?”  
“Hell yes.” I smiled; a ripple of laughter went through the crowd.  
Jake chuckled to himself. “That’s my Frito.”  
Joey cleared his throat smiling, “Legally you need to actually say ‘I do.’”  
I looked into Jake’s eyes. “I do. I love you.” Clint handed him a small silver band, and Jake slid it onto my finger, over my tattooed engagement ring. I refused to wear another diamond.  
“I love you, too.” He smiled at me as he held my hands in his.  
Joey looked out to the crowd, “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride!”  
Jake swung his arm around the small of my back and dipped me into a kiss. I could hear our friends and family cheering as I let the sensation wash over me. We walked down the aisle together, and as we opened the doors to leave, I saw it.

  
A rose.


End file.
